Election 2023 Maine Referendum Question 6

AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine (WAGM) - QUESTION 6: RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Require All Provisions in the Constitution to Be Included in the Official Printing. Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to require that all of the provisions of the Constitution be included in the official printed copies of the Constitution prepared by the Secretary of State? Attorney and WAGM Legal Contributor Luke Rossignol explains what the ballot question means...“there’s a lot of interesting history about it, and I think it also involves history between the state in the Native American indigenous tribes of the state, it also stems from the state of Maine separation from Massachusetts. What are the things that was involved in that separation from the state of Massachusetts was the state of Maine had to assume all the obligations for Massachusetts had with regard to treaties and obligations related to the Native American tribes in so that was on the books as part of that specific Article 10 of the Constitution it was on the books until the 1860s and there’s always been a dicotonomy or conflict between that part of the Constituion about having to honor those obligations and there was a law that was basically saying the state does not recognize those treaties and obligations to the tribes. in the late 1800s it was set up that those provisions there’s two others that were very mundane that were not printed ready and that was happening while there was a Maine supreme court case dealing with that issue between a safely a white settler land claim against Native Americans and I believe what resolved in favor of the white settler but it still is open whether or not the state of Maine is gonna recognize these treaties and obligations but it’s also still the case that that constitutional provision is still in the constitution so I think that the Native American tribes have made a decnt pooint about saying proper respect should be shown and this provision should be printed.”

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