Measure on the ballot in the 2023 Maine General Election in Maine.
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Get StartedThe intent of this proposed amendment to the Maine Constitution is to remove a provision that a federal court determined violates the United States Constitution and federal law. The Maine Constitution currently provides in article II, section 1, that persons who are "under guardianship for reasons of mental illness" are not qualified to vote for Governor, State Representative, or State Senator. In 2000, a group of plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit, Doe v. Rowe, No. 00-cv-206, in the United States District Court for the District of Maine claiming that this restriction violated their rights under the due process and equal protection provisions of the United States Constitution as well as under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a 2001 decision, the District Court agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that this restriction on voting was facially unconstitutional and violated the ADA. As a result of the ruling, the State no longer enforces this restriction. The proposed constitutional amendment would remove from the Maine Constitution this now unenforceable restriction.
A "YES" vote is to remove the provision making people under guardianship for reasons of mental illness ineligible to vote.
A "NO" vote opposes this change to the Maine Constitution.
"Voting is…a fundamental right, We would like to see a world in which there is no competency standard for voting, because we don't subject people generally to proving somehow that they can make a choice." - Lewis Bossing, attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, in support of Question 8 (Learn more)
"My hope is that the voters will reject the antiquated language of the past that is not even legally enforceable and finally align our constitution with our principles and the law today." - Shenna Bellows, Secretary of State, in support of Question 8 (Learn more)
Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to remove a provision prohibiting a person under guardianship for reasons of mental illness from voting for Governor, Senators and Representatives, which the United States District Court for the District of Maine found violates the United States Constitution and federal law?
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