Jane Gilbert v. Secretary of State

Summary

The Court affirmed the Secretary of State’s invalidation of an initiative petition because four nonresident circulators had not consented to Maine jurisdiction when they submitted their signatures and affidavits. It held that the Secretary was constitutionally and statutorily required to enforce the jurisdiction-consent requirement and could require compliance by the petition-filing deadline. The Court concluded that the deadline imposed only a reasonable, nondiscriminatory burden on political speech and that the petition therefore lacked sufficient valid signatures.