2020 Maine Question 1
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2020 Maine Question 1 was a
people's veto A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...
referendum that sought to reject a new law which eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions from school
vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
requirements and for employees of nursery schools and health care facilities. The question appeared on the March 3, 2020 statewide ballot. The vote coincided with the Democratic and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
presidential primaries for the U.S. presidential election in November 2020. The veto effort was defeated 73%-27%.


LD 798

On April 23, 2019, The
Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...
voted 78-59 to pass LD 798, "An Act To Protect Maine Children and Students from Preventable Diseases by Repealing Certain Exemptions from the Laws Governing Immunization Requirements". The bill was sponsored by Ryan Tipping (D- Orono). The
Maine State Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...
passed the bill 20-15 on May 2 but amended it to keep religious exemptions. The House rejected the amendment on May 7 and sent the bill back to the Senate. On May 23, the Senate reversed course and passed the bill, without the religious exemption, by a vote of 19-16. On May 24, 2019, Maine governor
Janet Mills Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2019. She previously served as the Maine Attorney General on two occasions. A member of the Democratic Party ...
signed the bill into law effective September 2021. Maine thus became the fourth state in the US to allow only medical exemptions for school immunization requirements.


Petition effort

Prior to the September 19, 2019 deadline, opponents of the new law submitted 95,071 signatures to
Maine Secretary of State The secretary of state of Maine is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The Secretary of State performs duties of both a legislative branch as well as an executive branch off ...
Matthew Dunlap Matthew Dunlap (born November 26, 1964) is an American politician from Maine who is the Maine State Auditor.. A Democrat, Dunlap served as Secretary of State of Maine from January 7, 2013, to January 4, 2021, and previously served in that same ...
. Of those, 79,000 were deemed valid, surpassing the 63,067 required for the veto effort to be included on a statewide ballot. (In Maine, a number of valid signatures equalling 10% of the votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election are required for a people's veto to be accepted for inclusion on a statewide ballot.)


Date of the vote

While signatures were being gathered, Dunlap's office told organizers of the veto effort that, if qualified for the ballot, the vote would coincide with state legislative and congressional primary elections in June 2020. However, that guidance failed to take into account the recent change in the law to hold primary elections for presidential nominees, as opposed to a caucus, on the March 3
Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
. Thus the referendum vote would be held on March 3, as it was the next scheduled statewide election. Dunlap's office admitted to the error, but said that it has no discretion over when to schedule elections and explained that timing is generally not discussed until petitions are submitted and validated, which had not happened yet.


Yes vs. No


"Yes on 1 to Reject Big Pharma"

Supporters of the veto campaign, who wished to restore religious and philosophical exemptions for required vaccination, became "Yes on 1 to Reject Big Pharma."


"No on 1 to Protect Maine's Children"

Opponents of the veto, who wished to allow only medical exemptions for required vaccination, became "No on 1 to Protect Maine's Children."


Campaign

On February 4, 2020, campaigns on both sides of the referendum held campaign kickoff events at the
Maine State House The Maine State House in Augusta, Maine, is the state capitol of the State of Maine. The building was completed in 1832, one year after Augusta became the capital of Maine. Built using Maine granite, the State House was based on the design of the ...
. Yes on 1 was endorsed by state senators Matthew Pouliot (R- Kennebec) & Lisa Keim (R-
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
); state representatives Robert Foley (R-
Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...
), Justin Fecteau (R- Augusta) and Heidi Sampson (R-
Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
); and
Christiane Northrup Christiane Northrup is a former obstetrics and gynaecology physician and author who has embraced pseudoscientific alternative medicine and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. She has a history of opposing vaccination and has embraced QAnon ideolo ...
. No on 1 was endorsed by the Maine Medical Association, the Maine Dental Association, the Maine Hospital Association, the Maine Osteopathic Association, the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital, the Maine Association of School Nurses, the American Academy of Pediatrics,
EqualityMaine EqualityMaine (formerly the Maine Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance) is Maine's oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender political advocacy organization. Their mission, outlined on the organization's website is to "secure equality ...
, Governor
Janet Mills Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2019. She previously served as the Maine Attorney General on two occasions. A member of the Democratic Party ...
the ''
Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig and ...
,'' the ''
Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram'' is a morning daily newspaper with a website that serves southern Maine and is focused on the greater metropolitan area around Portland, Maine, in the United States. Founded in 1862, its roots e ...
,'' and ''
The Ellsworth American ''The Ellsworth American'' is a local weekly newspaper covering Hancock County, Maine. Overview ''The Ellsworth American'' is a locally owned and managed weekly newspaper serving Hancock County, Maine. Publication began Oct. 17, 1851,"In the Begi ...
''. Supporters of the veto raised over $640,000 while the opposition raised close to $875,000.


Results

The veto effort was defeated 73% (281,750) to 27% (105,214). A total of 386,964 votes were cast.


References


External links


Ballotpedia: Maine Question 1, Religious and Philosophical Vaccination Exemptions Referendum (March 2020)

States with religious and philosophical exemptions from school immunization requirements
National Conference of State Legislators
Mainers for Health and Parental Rights

Maine Families for Vaccines
{{Maine elections, state=collapsed Vaccination in the United States 2020 Maine ballot measures Vaccine controversies Public health in the United States