Taxpayers Action Network v. Sec. of State
| Decision Date | 17 April 2002 |
| Citation | 795 A.2d 75,2002 ME 64 |
| Parties | MAINE TAXPAYERS ACTION NETWORK v. SECRETARY OF STATE. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
Stephen C. Whiting (orally), the Whiting Law Firm, P.A., Portland, for plaintiff.
G. Steven Rowe, Attorney General, Phyllis Gardner, Asst. Attorney General (orally), Augusta, for defendant.
Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, CALKINS, and LEVY, JJ.
[¶ 1] Maine Taxpayers Action Network challenges the Secretary of State's decision to invalidate over three thousand signatures gathered by an imposter who was paid by MTAN to circulate petitions in support of a ballot initiative. The imposter, who, unbeknownst to MTAN, had stolen the identity of another person who did not reside in Maine, has now absconded from Maine and cannot be found.
[¶ 2] MTAN asks us to hold that when a circulator steals the identity, including name, social security number, and birth date, of another person, fraudulently obtains a driver's license, motor vehicle registration, and voter registration using that stolen identity, and falsely swears to that identity in his oath and affidavit in connection with an initiative petition, the Secretary of State must nonetheless accept the signatures obtained by that circulator. We are unpersuaded by MTAN's argument, and we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court affirming the decision of the Secretary of State.
[¶ 3] In October of 2000, with the approval of the Secretary of State pursuant to constitutional and statutory citizen initiative procedures, the Maine Taxpayers Action Network initiated a petition on behalf of a proposed ballot initiative entitled "An Act to Impose Limits on Real and Personal Property Taxes." See ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 18;1 21-A M.R.S.A. §§ 901-906 (1993 & Supp.2001). The citizen initiative procedures permit Maine citizens to propose legislation directly to the Legislature after obtaining the requisite number of signatures on a petition. ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, §§ 18(2), 20; 21-A M.R.S.A. § 901 (Supp.2001). In this case, MTAN was required to gather 42,101 signatures to support its initiative. [¶ 4] Signatures are collected by individuals known as "circulators." ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20.2 Of the 53,795 signatures collected by MTAN, 3054 of them were obtained by a circulator known as James Powell. Pursuant to ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20, and 21-A M.R.S.A. §§ 354(3), (4), (7),3 902 (1993 & Supp.2001), the man purporting to be James Powell swore to the following oath after collecting the signatures:
I hereby make oath that I am the Circulator of this petition, that all signatures to this petition were made in my presence and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, each signature is that of the person it purports to be.4
The circulator known as James Powell was, however, an imposter who had stolen the identity of the real James Powell, a man living in the state of Washington. The circulator used the real James Powell's name, social security number, and birth date and place as his own to fraudulently obtain a driver's license, motor vehicle registration, and voter registration. The real identity of the person posing as James Powell is unknown. The imposter at some point left the state and could not be located by investigators.
[¶ 5] The Secretary of State invalidated 14,506 of MTAN's signatures. Included with the invalidated signatures are the 3054 collected by the purported James Powell that were rejected because the circulator posing as Powell was not a resident of Maine and was not the person he purported to be. See 21-A M.R.S.A. § 905 (1993 & Supp.2001). This left MTAN 2812 signatures short of the required 42,101.
[¶ 6] MTAN filed a petition for review of the Secretary's decision in the Superior Court pursuant to 21-A M.R.S.A. § 905(2) (1993). Following a joint motion by the parties, the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Humphrey, J.) remanded the matter to the Secretary for the taking of additional evidence. The Secretary then issued a decision giving three grounds for invalidating the 3054 signatures: (1) the circulator using the name of James Powell had sworn to a false identity and was, therefore, not who he purported to be according to his oath; (2) the circulator had used a false identity in registering to vote himself, and was therefore not a properly registered voter in violation of ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20 and 21-A M.R.S.A. § 903-A (Supp.2001); and (3) the circulator was not a bona fide resident of Maine in violation of ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20. The Superior Court did not reach the issue of whether the person acting as Powell was a registered voter, but upheld the Secretary's decision to invalidate the signatures on the grounds that he was not a resident of Maine and that he falsely stated his identity in his oath on petition documents. MTAN appeals pursuant to 21-A M.R.S.A. § 905(3) (1993).5
[¶ 7] "We review the decision of the Secretary of State directly, reviewing for abuse of discretion, errors of law, or findings not supported by evidence." Palesky v. Sec'y of State, 1998 ME 103, ¶ 9, 711 A.2d 129, 132 (citation omitted). MTAN does not challenge the Secretary's factual findings regarding the wholly false identity used by the alleged James Powell. It contends, however, that requiring a circulator to actually be who he purports to be, and requiring that a circulator be a registered voter and resident of this state, place an undue burden on the political process in contravention of the First Amendment applied through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.6 See U.S. CONST. amends. I, XIV, § 1.
[¶ 8] The circulation of direct initiative petitions is "core political speech," and any state regulation of the initiative process must be "narrowly tailored" to carry out a compelling state purpose. Wyman v. Sec'y of State, 625 A.2d 307, 311 (Me.1993); Hart v. Sec'y of State, 1998 ME 189, ¶ 9, 715 A.2d 165, 167-68,cert. denied 525 U.S. 1139, 119 S.Ct. 1028, 143 L.Ed.2d 38 (1999). We are also cognizant, as the United States Supreme Court has stated, that, "as a practical matter, there must be a substantial regulation of elections if they are to be fair and honest and if some sort of order, rather than chaos, is to accompany the democratic processes." Storer v. Brown, 415 U.S. 724, 730, 94 S.Ct. 1274, 39 L.Ed.2d 714 (1974). Accordingly, there is no litmus test for determining whether an election regulation imposes an impermissible burden on free speech, and states are accorded considerable leeway in the regulation of the initiative process in order to promote their legitimate state purposes. Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Found., Inc., 525 U.S. 182, 192, 119 S.Ct. 636, 142 L.Ed.2d 599 (1999) (citing Storer, 415 U.S. at 730,94 S.Ct. 1274). Because MTAN has challenged the constitutionality of the Secretary's evaluation of petitions collected by the imposter, we review the Secretary's actions de novo. Town of Baldwin v. Carter, 2002 ME 52, ¶ 8, 794 A.2d 62, 66; see also Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 508 n. 27, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984)
.
[¶ 9] The citizens' initiative provisions of the Maine Constitution, ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 18, were enacted in 1907. Resolves 1907, ch. 121. Although section 18 provides the framework for the petition procedure, see supra note 1, it is section 20 alone that outlines the procedure for the circulation of those petitions and the collection of signatures. ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20; see supra note 2.
[¶ 10] The initiative provisions of the Maine Constitution also grant the Maine Legislature the authority to carry out those constitutional mandates through legislation. The Legislature has exercised that authority by delineating the procedure by which a party may introduce an initiative. 21-A M.R.S.A. § 901 (Supp.2001). The party must first, as MTAN did, submit an application with the text of the proposed law to the Secretary. Id. The Secretary then reviews and approves the petition form prior to its circulation. Id.
[¶ 11] Circulators then proceed to collect the requisite number of signatures. A voter who wishes to support the initiative first signs his or her name to the petition, and either the voter or the circulator then prints the voter's name and address. 21-A M.R.S.A. § 354(3), (4) (1993 & Supp.2001). After collecting the signatures, the circulator must take an oath before a notary public certifying that he is the circulator and that all signatures on the petition are those of whom they purport to be. ME. CONST. art. IV, pt. 3, § 20; 21-A M.R.S.A. § 354(7), 902 (1993 & Supp.2001). The registrar of each municipality then certifies that the names appearing on the petitions also appear on the list of registered voters in that municipality. 21-A M.R.S.A. § 354(7)(C) (Supp.2001); see also id. § 902.
[¶ 12] The Secretary is vested with the authority to determine whether any petition filed in support of a citizens initiative is valid. 21-A M.R.S.A. § 905(1) (Supp.2001).7 The statute does not provide specific grounds for invalidating a signature, but provides broadly that "[t]he Secretary of State shall determine the validity of the petition and issue a written decision stating the reasons for the decision ...." Id. Accordingly, we have recognized that the Secretary may disqualify signatures for a failure to follow the requirements of the Constitution or its statutory overlay. In Hart, for example, we held that the Secretary could invalidate signatures obtained by circulators who were not Maine residents. 1998 ME 189, ¶ 13,715 A.2d at 168. Similarly, we have upheld the Secretary's invalidation of signatures not contained on approved petition forms and signatures lacking the certification of the registrar...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
In re Op. of the Justices, Docket No. OJ–17–1
...to be fair and honest and if some sort of order, rather than chaos, is to accompany the democratic processes."); Me. Taxpayers Action Network v. Sec'y of State , 2002 ME 64, ¶ 8, 795 A.2d 75. Thus, we conclude that both the live gravity and unusual exigency requirements are satisfied as to ......
-
Op. of Justices of Supreme Judicial Court Given Under Provisions of Article VI
...to be fair and honest and if some sort of order, rather than chaos, is to accompany the democratic processes."); Me. Taxpayers Action Network v. Sec'y of State, 2002 ME 64, ¶ 8, 795 A.2d 75. Thus, we conclude that both the live gravity and unusual exigency requirements are satisfied as to Q......
-
Lvcva v. Secretary of State
...29 Ohio St.2d 233, 281 N.E.2d 186 (1972); State v. Bachrach, 175 Ohio St. 257, 193 N.E.2d 517 (1963); see also Taxpayers Action Network v. Sec. of State, 795 A.2d 75 (Me.2002) (stating that the secretary of state has the authority to invalidate a petition when circulators did not comply wit......
-
Preserve Shorecliff Home. v. San Clemente
...challenge to state constitutional requirement "requiring circulators to be residents" of state]; cf. Maine Taxpayers Action Network v. Secretary of State (Me.2002) 795 A.2d 75, 7g, fn. 6 [refusing to address challenge to "Maine's requirement that circulators be registered voters and residen......