Positions in Brief

The League of Women Voters believes that responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people. The League has long-established positions that encourage citizen participation in government, endorse citizens’ right to know, hold representative government to standards of accountability, and support campaign finance regulation and transparency in political campaigns. 

Against this backdrop, the League of Women Voters of Maine (LWVME) supports protecting the right of Maine citizens to propose and veto legislation through a state-wide, citizen-initiated petition process.

In furtherance of this right, LWVME supports:

• Keeping administrative barriers low so that the process itself and information about the process are accessible to ordinary citizens wishing to initiate or veto legislation, including instructions for sponsors that are comprehensive, easily available, and understandable;
• Ensuring that the signature threshold and other requirements for filing CI/PVR petitions are rigorous enough to prevent frivolous proposals that stand little chance of being approved by voters, but not so difficult as to discourage grassroots efforts to initiate or repeal legislation;
• Government-provided voter information about pending CI/PVR questions that is appropriate to the general audience, adequately funded, and widely distributed; this includes ensuring (1) that information provided in the Maine Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election and on ballots and petitions themselves is unbiased, appropriate for each type of document, and understandable by ordinary citizens; and (2) that any pro/con positions from public hearings or other sources are available to the public in a timely manner; and
• Campaign finance regulation of CI/PVR that requires full disclosure by all donors to ballot question initiatives (including but not limited to individuals, corporations, ballot question committees, and PACs), effective enforcement of campaign finance legislation by designated government agencies, and adequate funding of those agencies to insure timely and easy access by the public to the online data base and summary information.

LWVME opposes:

• Geographic restrictions for signature collection on CI/PVR petitions,
• Limitations on the area of law that can be covered by CI/PVR, and
• Introduction of a citizen-initiated process for Constitutional Amendments

LWVME supports reform in the financing of state candidate PACs consistent with the LWVUS position on Campaign Finance Reform.

This means that LWVME supports measures to improve the financing of candidate PACs in order to ensure the public's right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office, and promote citizen participation in the political process. Applying these principles to PAC reform in Maine provides a basis for sound action in the changing constitutional context as the Supreme Court of the U.S. reshapes the landscape of permissible reform.

Equality of Opportunity (Civil Marriage) (retired in 2019)

The League of Women Voters of Maine supports equal rights for all under Maine law. LWVME supports legislation to equalize the legal rights and benefits available to same-sex couples with those available to heterosexual couples. LWVME supports legislation to permit same-sex couples to marry. The League believes that the civil status of marriage should be clearly distinguished from the religious institution of marriage and that religious rights should be preserved. LWVME believes that Maine should recognize the civil unions and same-sex marriages of other states.

LWVME may also take action at the state level based on positions adopted by our national League. These positions cover a broad range of public policy areas: representative goverment, international relations, natural resources, and social policy. Read more about the Leagues national positions at the LWVUS web site.