AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine Secretary of State said Monday a citizens’ initiative that sought to crack down on voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens has failed to get enough signatures.
The proposal, supported by Republican Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor, sought to change a voter qualification statute in Maine. The petitioners submitted 66,389 signatures, but only 41,075 of them were found to be valid, the office of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said.
The petitioners needed 63,067 signatures from Maine voters to make it to the public ballot.
The secretary of state’s office said the petitioners hoped a voter qualification statue would have been changed to “emphasize that only those persons who meet the requirements listed in that section of law may vote in an election in a municipality. ”
The existing statute includes requirements such as that the voter be a U.S. citizens who is at least 18 years old and have established and maintained a voting residence in their municipality.
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