Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that a petition for a people’s veto be voted on at the next statewide or general election, rather than at a special election?

This Question is a reflection of Maine’s increased use of the referendum process and the need to accommodate it in a way that does not burden municipalities. The public should support this measure to improve the voting process.

Maine, like many states, has spent the last decade trying to make it easier for people to register to vote. Unfortunately, it also requires that a vote for a people’s veto be held within six months of its petitions being certified. That produced the dismally low 30 percent turnout for the February 1998 vote on human-rights protections for gays. The average turnout for these kinds of elections is only 24 percent, well below half the average showing for Election Day votes in November.

Both the Christian Civic League of Maine and the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, opponents in the February ’98 vote, support the change to holding these votes during regular election days. Any group that believes in the value of its cause and the fair-mindedness of the voting public would, too. But there is a more practical reason for these organizations to support this measure: If they want hard-won positions to stand, they must do so on something more than 25 percent or 30 percent of the vote. Otherwise, opponents could easily argue that the real opinion of Maine has not been heard.

The Maine Municipal Association reports that towns and cities spent $350,000 on the special election that repealed the gay-rights law. Not an incredibly large sum, but not one elected officials welcome. The proposed constitutional change would keep this cost out of local budgets.

Question 8 improves a process that gives voters a direct say in Maine’s laws and deserves support.