Anna Kellar, Executive Director of Maine Citizens for Clean Elections This Afternoon, Outside

Volunteers Pose for a Photo Inside City Hall With Boxes of Petitions for the Clerk’s Office to Certify.

Maria Testa, a Veteran Signature Gatherer, at Today’s Petition Filing at City Hall.

Anna Kellar, executive director of Maine Citizens for Clean Elections Portland, said that over 100 volunteers collected 16,680 signatures from all corners of Portland and submitted them to the city clerk’s office late this afternoon for certification within 20 days.

The two amendments are to bring publicly funded elections and ranked-choice voting to all of Portland municipal elections.

In fact, that number of collected signatures was a record number for  Portland.  Volunteers had to collect 20% of the voters in the last gubernatorial election that was higher in the recent election than previously.

Maria Testa who has collected signatures in previous campaigns said that when she explained to people what the issues were, they were enthusiastic about signing them. “That’s not always the case,” she said.

Maine Citizens for Clean Elections is a state-wide organization with a Portland office. The Drive was organized by Democracy Maine, a partnership with Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and the League of Women Voters of Maine.

The two proposed amendments should go to the City Council later this month – following certification by the City Clerk’s office.