A proposal to legalize marijuana will top the November referendum ballot, state election officials announced Monday.
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap released the order in which five citizens’ initiatives will appear on the ballot. The order was determined by a random drawing.
The campaign behind each citizens’ initiative had to collect at least 61,123 valid signatures to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office last week approved the final wording of the questions. The questions will appear on the ballot in the following order:
– Question 1: An Act to Legalize Marijuana. “Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?”
– Question 2: An Act to Establish the Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education. “Do you want to add a 3 percent tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to create a state fund that would provide direct support for student learning in kindergarten through 12th grade public education?”
– Question 3: An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales. “Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activities?”
– Question 4: An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage. “Do you want to raise the minimum hourly wage of $7.50 to $9 in 2017, with annual $1 increases up to $12 in 2020, and annual cost-of-living increases thereafter; and do you want to raise the direct wage for service workers who receive tips from half the minimum wage to $5 in 2017, with annual $1 increases until it reaches the adjusted minimum wage?”
– Question 5: An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting. “Do you want to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative, and to have ballots counted at the state level in multiple rounds in which last-place candidates are eliminated until a candidate wins majority?”
The November ballot also will include a bond issue, which will appear after the citizens’ initiatives. The bond question asks if voters favor spending $100 million for construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation for highways and bridges and for work related to other types of infrastructure. The bond would be used to match an estimated $137 million in federal funds.
The full text of each proposed bill is posted on the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions’ website.
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