LEWISTON — Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said he has filed a bill that would allow Mainers to remove their names from citizen initiative and people’s veto petitions up to a week before final certification by the secretary of state.

Currently there is no recourse for people to remove their names, other than physically crossing it out before it gets submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office. But once it’s turned in, it remains. The bill would allow Mainers to file a written request for removal with the secretary of state.

“We have the right to free speech, but also have the right to the truth,” said Berry, the House Majority Whip, in a statement. “If mislead, we should be able to remove our names from a petition.”

Berry said he filed the bill in response to reports of signature collectors spreading misinformation. Most recently, former state legislator Lois Snowe-Mello circulated inaccurate information while seeking petition signatures to repeal a new tax law, and earlier this summer there were reports of petitioners seeking to repeal the law legalizing same-sex marriage using misleading statements in order to collect signatures.

Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said those signing petitions are already equipped with the ability to be sure of what they are signing. The wording of the law being promoted in cases of citizen’s initiatives or seeking to be repealed, by people’s veto efforts, must be printed atop the petition, he said.

Dunlap said he wasn’t sure what kind of an impact Berry’s proposal would have on his staff.

“We could probably absorb it if it was 30 or 40 people requesting their names be removed, but what happens if there are 100,000 signatures turned in and there’s a move to get 40,000 taken off? That is something that would be a nightmare for us to deal with,” he said.

Berry’s bill, like all proposals for the 2nd session of the Legislature, will have to be approved by the Legislative Council before being considered by the full body next year.

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