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Maine Referendums, 2016
Five referendums were held in Maine, United States on November 8, 2016 alongside state and national elections.Proposed Initiative Ballot Question / Public Comment Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions All are citizen-initiated proposals, which cover: * Legalization of marijuana: Proposed legalization of the recreational use of marijuana in the state for those over the age of 21, and institution a 10 percent tax on its sale. * Education funding: A proposal to increase state aid to public schools by instituting a surcharge of 3% on state income taxes for those with in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, respectively. The largest state by total area in New England, Maine is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural of the 50 U.S. states. It is also the northeasternmost among the contiguous United States, the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes, the only state whose name consists of a single syllable, and the only state to border exactly one other U.S. state. Approximately half the area of Maine lies on each side of the 45th parallel north in latitude. The most populous city in Maine is Portland, while its capital is Augusta. Maine has traditionally been known for its jagged, rocky Atlantic Ocean and bayshore coastlines; smoothly contoured mountains; heavily f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine Question 1, 2016
Maine Question 1, formally An Act to Legalize Marijuana, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was qualified for the ballot after a Maine Superior Court judge ordered that petitions rejected by the Maine Secretary of State be reconsidered. The proposal sought to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Maine for those over the age of 21, and institute a 10 percent tax on its sale. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections. According to uncertified results, the referendum passed by 50.3% to 49.7%, a margin of under 5,000 votes. On November 10, two days after the election, the Associated Press called the result in favor of the "Yes" vote. However, opponents of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine Question 2, 2016
Maine Question 2, formally An Act to Establish The Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to increase state aid to public schools by instituting a surcharge of 3% on Maine income taxes for those with income above $200,000 a year. As the Maine Legislature declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, and various local elections. The question was passed by roughly 10,000 votes. The surtax created by the question was repealed as part of state budget negotiations on July 3, 2017 that added $162 million to public education funding from general revenue. Background In 2003, Maine voters passed a referendum calling for the state to pay for 55% of the cost of operating public schools, as a way to reduce pressure on local prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine Question 3, 2016
Maine Question 3, formally An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales, was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to require a background check for virtually all gun transfers in Maine, with some exceptions. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two United States House seats, the Maine Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections. The question was defeated, with 51.8% of voters opposed. Background Efforts to expand background checks of gun buyers have not succeeded at the Maine State House. In 2013, an effort to create a civil penalty of someone not conducting a background check on a buyer later found to not be allowed to possess a gun passed the Maine Legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Paul LePage, a strong gun ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine Question 4, 2016
Maine Question 4, formally An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage, is a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to increase Maine's minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $12 an hour by 2020, as well as increasing the minimum wage for tipped employees gradually to the same level by 2024. It would also index increases after 2024 to inflation. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections. Efforts to place a competing, more moderate proposal alongside the citizen-initiated bill were unsuccessful. The proposal was enacted by voters, with 55% in favor. The changes to the tip credit were later reversed by the Legislature. Background Efforts to increase Maine's $7.50 minimum wage have b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maine Question 5, 2016
Maine Question 5, formally An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting,https://www1.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/citizensguide2016.pdf is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was approved by a vote of 52% in favor, 48% opposed. It sought to change how most Maine elections will be conducted from a plurality voting system to a ranked-choice voting system (RCV, also known as instant runoff voting). It appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the legislature, five other ballot questions, and various local elections. The referendum was successful, making Maine the first state to use ranked choice voting for its federal elections. An advisory opinion by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, issued on May 23, 2017, stated that the court would rule ranked-choice voting unconstitutional if it came before them, with respect to elections for state offices ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plurality Voting System
Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per district and may also be referred to as first-past-the-post (FPTP), single-member plurality (SMP/SMDP), single-choice voting (an imprecise term as non-plurality voting systems may also use a single choice), simple plurality or relative majority (as opposed to an ''absolute majorit''y, where more than half of votes is needed, this is called ''majority voting''). A system which elects multiple winners elected at once with the plurality rule, such as one based on multi-seat districts, is referred to as plurality block voting. Plurality voting is distinguished from ''majority voting'', in which a winning candidate must receive an absolute majority of votes: more than half of all votes (more than all other candidates combined if each voter ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Instant-runoff Voting
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the United States (although there are other forms of ranked voting), preferential voting in Australia, where it has seen the widest adoption; in the United Kingdom, it is generally called alternative vote (AV), whereas in some other countries it is referred to as the single transferable vote, which usually means only its multi-winner variant. All these names are often used inconsistently. Voters in IRV elections rank the candidates in order of preference. Ballots are initially counted for each voter's top choice. If a candidate has more than half of the first-choice votes, that candidate wins. If not, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the voters who selected the defeated candidate as a first choice then have their vot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
