Maine’s Secretary of State Matt Dunlap announced today, March 5, that enough valid signatures have been submitted to advance a citizen initiative seeking "to prohibit the use of dogs, bait or traps when hunting bears except under certain circumstances." Under a formula established in the Maine Constitution, 57, 277 valid signatures are required for the proposal to advance, according to a new release from the secretary’s office. Dunlap certified that 63,626 valid signatures were submitted, or 6,349 signatures more than required. 

The full name of the initiative is: "An Act To Prohibit the Use of Dogs, Bait or Traps When Hunting Bears except under Certain Circumstances"

Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting, a group of organizations, have presented the initiative to, they say, “enact long-overdue protections for Maine’s bear population.”

Katie Hansberry, campaign director for Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting said in a news release: “We are excited to work with Maine hunters and non-hunters to ban the inhumane, unsporting, and reckless practices of bear baiting, hounding and trapping. Dumping millions of pounds of pizza, jelly donuts and rotting food into the woods --  to lure in bears for an easy kill -- is wildlife mismanagement at its worst, providing heaps of supplemental food for bears and training them to raid garbage and other human food sources. Many states with dense forests, such as Oregon and Washington, ban these unacceptable practices, and Maine can, too. We are thrilled that Maine voters will have an opportunity to decide this issue in November.” 

The proposed measure only affects recreational hounding, baiting and trapping, while still allowing fair chase bear hunting, the organization said. it includes exemptions for research purposes and for the take of bears in the interest of the public safety or to protect public or private property, endangered or threatened species, livestock or pets.

The summary of Dunlap’s determination is:

• Initially submitted signatures: 76,841

• Excluded by local officials or by the Secretary of State: 13,215

• Total valid signatures: 63,626

(Total needed to advance: 57,277) 

According to the office, 9,654 signatures were invalid because they were not certified by the registrar as belonging to a registered voter in that municipality.

• 2,347 signatures were invalid because they are duplicates of signatures already counted.

• 494 signatures are invalid because the voter's signature was withdrawn from the petition.

• 256 signatures were invalid because the circulator's oath was not complete or not administered properly.

• 157 signatures were invalid because the voter dated his or her signature after the date of the circulator's oath before the notary or the voter's signature was not dated and it could not be determined that the voter signed the petition before the circulator took the oath.

• 91 signatures were invalid because the circulator oath's was not completed prior to submitting the petition to the registrar for certification.

• 66 signatures were invalid because the registered voter's signature was made by another.

• 58 signatures were invalid because of material alterations to the petition.

• 57 signatures were invalid because the petitioner failed to provide a signature. 

• 21 signatures were invalid because the notary was related to the circulator.

• 10 signatures were invalid because the petition was submitted to the municipal registrar for determination of whether the petitioners were qualified voters after the deadline set by the Maine Constitution, Article IV, Part Third, Section 20. 

• 3 signatures were invalid because the circulators collected signatures prior to becoming registered to vote in the State of Maine.

• 1 signature was invalid because the petition was not on the approved form.  

The Legislature may either approve the legislation exactly as written by the proponents or the Legislature may disapprove the legislation. If the Legislature fails to approve the legislation, then the ballot question is drafted and will be put before the voters statewide no later than November 2014. Information about the citizen initiative process is available by clicking on the "Citizen Initiative" link at www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/. Contact information for the proponent is also available at that site.

"The staff in our Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions has been working diligently to review the petition," said Dunlap, in the release. "They are a small staff and they've done a tremendous job. The process for certifying an effort like this requires fine, detailed scrutiny, and our people have worked every weekend over the last month to make sure this was certified on time and that the work was completed deliberately and with integrity. Local election officials also played a crucial role in this process and have done excellent work. All have performed a great service for democracy and for the citizens of Maine. We are confident that this initiative has met the strict standards as set forth in the Maine constitution."