Petitioners to set up at polls Proposed spring water tax key among citizen initiatives eyed for ’05

PORTLAND – A strong Election Day turnout could be matched by a large number of volunteers who will be gathering signatures in hopes of placing citizen initiatives on the ballot in November 2005.

Voters will be invited to sign five petitions addressing tax reform, state spending, gambling, same-sex marriage and bottled drinking water.

Hundreds of volunteers will fan out across many of the state’s 608 polling places in hopes of collecting the more than 50,000 voter signatures needed to force their pet issue to a vote.

What appears to be a new wrinkle is an organized effort at polling places to discourage voters from signing one of the petitions.

Employees of Poland Spring, the chief target of a campaign to tax Maine water that’s bottled and sold, have expressed interest in being present at the polls, a spokeswoman for the bottler’s parent company said.

“They’re eager to help in some way,” said Jane Lazgin of Nestle Waters North America, who emphasized that the plan was initiated by employees concerned that the measure “would threaten good, clean jobs in Maine.”

The proposed ballot question calls for a tax of 3 cents for every 20 ounces of water extracted in Maine for sale, with much of the proceeds earmarked to assist small-business development.

Lazgin said the Poland Spring employees want “to urge the voting public to take the time to read through the entire petition and not just sign it before they really consider what the impacts would be.”

“It sounds kind of good when you look at it on the surface,” she said, “but it’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, we think.”

Todd Bray, a quality assurance technician at the company’s bottling plant in Hollis, said he intends to be present at the polls in his hometown of Dayton after he gets off work.

Bray, who heard about the initiative a few months ago, said many Poland Spring employees are concerned. “It could ultimately mean my job or other jobs in the state,” he said.

His advice to voters thinking about signing the petitions: “Just know the facts. Read it through, carefully.”

A spokesman for the group promoting the initiative, Dick Dyer of Winthrop, cautioned that there couldn’t be debate that might interrupt the flow of voters in and out of the polls. But he said he has no quarrel with anyone wanting to read the full legislation.

“We’re not trying to hide anything,” he said. “If they want to take the time to read that, we would certainly encourage it.”

Activities of petitioners are governed by rules set by the state. Solicitation of signatures can take place only after voters cast their ballots and are leaving the polls. Decisions on whether petitioners can set up tables inside a polling place are made locally.

The effort by Poland Spring workers would not appear to run afoul of the rules, Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn said.

“There’s nothing really specific in the law,” Flynn said. “They cannot create a disturbance or interfere with voter passage. They can verbally make their pitch on why someone should not sign a petition.”

Flynn said opponents of past petition campaigns have inquired about having a presence at the polls, but she could not recall any group ever following through.

The five groups collecting signatures this year hope to get all 50,519 on Election Day. But they are prepared, if necessary, to stake out shopping malls and supermarkets ahead of the holidays to finish the job.

“We’ll do whatever it takes,” said Mary Adams, leader of a campaign to limit state spending. “But it’s no fun to collect out in the cold. The polls are the place to do it.”

Another spending cap measure, which also puts a lid on property taxes, is being promoted by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Its president, Dana Connors, plans to have a combination of volunteer and paid help to gather names.

Other petition proposals would restore a ban on the use of slot machines in Maine and seek a federal constitutional convention to promote passage of an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Activists planning the petition drives are not attempting to blanket the entire state. They will target the larger polling places or concentrate their efforts in regions where their volunteer base is strongest.

The high turnout that many observers expect Tuesday will mean heavier traffic at the polls, helping the petition campaigns.

But the prospect of a record number of absentee ballots means that many voters will avoid contact with signature gatherers.