An Act To Secure the Integrity of Elections When the Secretary of State Is a Candidate

Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §610  is enacted to read:

§ 610.  Secretary of State as candidate

If the Secretary of State is a candidate in an election under the Secretary of State's jurisdiction, upon declaration of candidacy or by performing any substantive act to become a candidate, the Secretary of State may not oversee any part of that election and the first deputy secretary of state shall assume all responsibilities of the Secretary of State for that election under this Title. Upon assumption of the responsibilities under this section, the first deputy secretary of state shall take the oath of office required of the elected Secretary of State under Title 5, section 81.

summary

This bill prohibits the Secretary of State from overseeing an election in which the Secretary of State is a candidate and transfers all responsibilities of the Secretary of State for that election to the first deputy secretary of state.