Maine State and Local Government

The Green Papers: State and Local Government

Maine

Governor:	1	(Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms)
Senators:	2	(Electoral Classes 1 and 2)
2000 Representatives:	2	(0.46% of 435)
2002 Representatives:	2	(0.46% of 435)
2004 Electors:	4	(0.74% of 538)
1990 Census:	1,227,928	(0.49% of 248,765,170)
2000 Census:	1,277,731	(0.45% of 281,998,273)
Registered Voters (2000):	882,337
Estimated Voting age population (2000):	968,000
Capital:	Augusta

Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Marianas Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

States Alphabetically Current Maine Statewide Office Holders


Official Name/Status All States
	The STATE of Maine
	Status: STATE of the Union
	never organized as a Territory: previously, was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
	Admitted to the Union as a State: 15 March 1820 by an Act of Congress of 3 March 1820 (3 Stat. 544) recognizing a State government already formed
	The 23rd state.


Traditional Sections and Regions All States
	Section: NORTHEAST
	Region: New England
	Survey: Metes & Bounds

Constitutions All States Links to State Constitutions

Enabling Act: [Maine never had an Enabling Act: instead, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed enabling legislation of its own- first separating its "District of Maine" from the rest of the State, 19 June 1819- an action approved by the voters in Maine on 19 July 1819 by 17,001 to 7,132; Massachusetts passed a follow-up ordinance officially accepting the fact of Maine's imminent statehood on 25 February 1820, thereby allowing Congress to formally admit Maine as a State]

• 1st (1820--) [Adopted: 29 October 1819 Convention convened, 11 October 1819 (NOTE: on 12 January 1875, the Legislature authorized a Commission to propose such amendments as would update and modernize this Constitution; on 24 February 1875, this Commission proposed 9 amendments to be added to the 1819 Constitution and the 12 amendments thereto adopted prior to 1875: one of these 9 new amendments authorized the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to recodify the 1819 Constitution and amendments ), Ratified: 6 December 1819 ratified by special Town Meetings. (NOTE: The amendments proposed by the 1875 Commission were ratified by the People on 13 September 1875, after which the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court reworked the 1819 Constitution and its now 21 amendments into a newly recodified document: the Legislature accepted this recodification as the official Constitution of Maine on 23 February 1876; however, this 1875/1876 recodification is not generally considered to be a new Constitution per se )]

Executive Branch All States

Chief Executive
	• GOVERNOR
Successor to a Vacancy
	• President of the State Senate

Major Executive Officers Elected Statewide All States 2010 Office holders
	• Governor: 4 year term, Election Cycle: 2010, 2014. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms. GOVERNOR is the only Statewide elected officer

Legislative Branch All States

Legislature
	• LEGISLATURE

Upper House
	• Senate
Lower House
	• House of Representatives

Judicial Branch All States

Court of Last Resort
	• Supreme Judicial Court

Local Government


PRIMARY CIVIL DIVISION All States
	• county [Type: Weak, Executive and Legislative: Court of Commissioners]
	MINOR CIVIL DIVISION All States
		• TOWN [Type: Very Strong, Executive: Board of Selectmen, Legislative: TOWN MEETING]

Incorporated Municipalities All States


Key Statewide / Federal Officials All States
	Maine Officials

Statutory Election Information All States

State Primary All States
	• 2nd Tuesday of June of each general election year [Title 21-A, Chapter 5, Subchapter 1, section 339]
Polling times All States
	• 1. Opening time flexible. The polls must be opened no earlier than 6 a.m. and no later than 9 a.m. on election day; except that in municipalities with a population of less than 4,000, the polls must be opened no later than 10:00 a.m. on election day. 2. Closing time fixed. The polls must be closed at 8 p.m. on election day, except in municipalities of population less than 100 which may close the polls after all registered voters have voted. [Title 21-A, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, Article 2, �626]

Links Links to other web sites

Election Authority
	• Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions
	• Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics
Legislature
	• Maine House of Representatives
	• Maine Revised Statutes
	• Maine Senate
	• Maine State Legislature
Democratic
	• Maine Democratic Party
	• Maine Senate Democrats
Republican
	• Maine House Republicans
	• Maine Republican Party
	• Maine Senate Republicans
Third Party
	• Constitution Party of Maine
	• Libertarian Party of Maine
	• Maine Greens (Green Independent)
	• Maine Right to Life Committee
	• The Constitution Party of Maine
	• The Unity Party of Maine
	• Veterans Party of America - Maine
Media & others
	• Adams Report
	• As Maine Goes
	• Bangor Daily News
	• DC's Political Report - Maine
	• Journal Tribune - York County - Biddeford - Sanford
	• Kennebec Journal
	• Magic City Morning Star - Millinocket
	• Maine Public Broadcasting Network
	• Maine Today
	• Politics1.com - Maine
	• Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
	• Sun Journal - Lewiston
	• The Cape Courier - Cape Elizabeth
	• The Ellsworth American
	• The Lincoln County News
	• The Times Record - Bath - Brunswick
	• WABI TV - CBS - Bangor
	• WAGM TV - CBS - Prewsque Isle
	• WCSH TV - NBC - Portland
	• WGME TV - CBS - Portland
	• WLBZ NBC - Bangor
	• WMTW TV - ABC - Auburn
	• WVII TV - ABC / WFVX TV - Fox - Bangor
	• www.Maine.com - Gray