Voters across the state will head to local polling places Tuesday to decide eight statewide referendum questions, including a proposal to create a publicly owned electric utility.
Some also will get the chance to choose local officeholders or decide whether to invest in new schools or other public projects.
Polling places in most Maine communities will open between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Virtually all polling places must close at 8 p.m.
Check your municipality for exact polling times and locations or go to the Maine Secretary of State’s website for information about polling places and the rights of voters.
Watch pressherald.com Tuesday evening for up-to-the minute statewide and local election results as the votes are counted.
A complete voters’ guide to the ballot questions and candidates on Maine ballots can be found at pressherald.com’s comprehensive election page.
Voters will decide mayoral races in Portland, Biddeford, Lewiston and Auburn.
Portland voters also will consider three municipal referendum questions, including one that calls for gender-inclusive and gender-neutral language in the city charter. Another would exempt owners of nine or fewer rental units from meeting the requirements of the city’s rent control ordinance.
On the state ballot, passage of Question 1 would require separate voter approval before the state could take on more than $1 billion in debt for certain quasi-governmental entities and all publicly owned electric utilities. It is directly related to question 3.
Question 2 asks voters if they want to prohibit foreign governments and the entities they control or influence from spending money on state and local referendum campaigns in Maine.
Question 3 calls for creating a new publicly owned and controlled utility, to be named Pine Tree Power, by taking over the assets of Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power.
Question 4 asks whether car and truck manufacturers should be required to provide access to advanced technology and information necessary for owners and independent mechanics to repair increasingly complex vehicles outside dealerships.
Questions 5 through 8 are proposed constitutional amendments. While some are simply language updates, Question 6 would restore original language to printed versions of the state constitution, including a section on historic treaty obligations to Maine’s Indigenous tribes.
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