Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed an indirect initiative that would prohibit election spending by foreign governments, including entities with partial government ownership or control, on July 19, 2023. Voters will decide on the indirect initiative on Nov. 7, 2023, unless the Legislature overrides the governor’s veto.
In Maine, citizen-initiated state statutes must meet a signature requirement to be considered by the Maine State Legislature, which is calculated as 10% of the total votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election. In Nov. 2022, Protect Maine Elections, which is the campaign behind the initiative, submitted 67,550 valid signatures, meeting the signature requirement of 63,067 signatures, and was certified to the Legislature.
Out of the 21 states that provide for citizen-initiated state statutes, nine (9) of them, including Maine, have an indirect initiated statute process. The other states are Alaska, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. If the Legislature approves the initiative (and the governor enacts it in the states that require governor approval), the initiative becomes law. If the Legislature does not approve the initiative, or if the governor vetoes the initiative, it goes to the ballot for Maine voters to decide. Out of the nine states that provide for the indirect initiated state statute process, five states—Maine, as well as Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, and Utah—allow for the governor to veto an initiative the state legislature approves.
