Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 610 – Election transparency
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1. Guide to election procedures and training program for new municipal clerks. The Secretary of State shall produce and publicly disseminate a guide to election laws, rules and procedures and conduct a training program for new municipal clerks beginning February 1, 2024 and every 2 years thereafter. The guide and training program must include:
A. Requirements for polling places and the conduct of elections; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
B. Information about devices and software used to capture, interpret or tally votes and the capabilities and deployment of the devices and software; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
C. Duties of election officials on, before and after election day; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
D. Opportunities for citizens to monitor election procedures; and [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
E. Other election laws, rules or procedures that the Secretary of State determines appropriate for the public interest. [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
Staff in the Department of the Secretary of State who produce and publicly disseminate this guide or conduct this training program may not engage in partisan political activities that create an appearance of partiality with regard to an election administered by the department, including but not limited to making a contribution to a campaign, serving on a political action committee or campaign committee or soliciting votes in support of or in opposition to an issue or candidate appearing on a ballot.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 610
- Candidate: means any person who has filed a petition under either sections 335 and 336 or sections 354 and 355 and has qualified as a candidate by either procedure, or any person who has received contributions or made expenditures or has given consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures with the intent of qualifying as a candidate. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- General election: means the regular election of state and county officials occurring biennially in November. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- may: when used in this Title, is used in a permissive sense to grant authority or permission, but not to create duty, to act in the manner specified by the context. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 7
2. Log of public concerns. The Secretary of State shall implement a system for collecting and logging concerns from members of the public regarding the conduct of elections. The log must describe each concern and any action taken to address the concern. Instructions for reporting concerns under this subsection must be posted at all polling places and included in the guide produced under subsection 1.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
3. Election report. Beginning December 15, 2025 and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over elections matters that includes a list of all election-related studies or reports issued by the Secretary of State after the date of the previous report as well as the following information regarding the most recent general election and all subsequent elections:
A. A summary of the election-related concerns received and logged under subsection 2; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
B. A summary of any post-election audits conducted; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
C. A summary of any recounts conducted, including a description of any discrepancies in vote totals and explanations for discrepancies when available; and [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
D. Recommendations for remedying any problems identified in the election process at the state or local level. [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
4. Rules. The Secretary of State may adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2?A to carry out the purposes of this section.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. ZZ, §1 (NEW).