2016 Maine Question 1

Question 1: Citizen Initiative

An Act To Legalize Marijuana
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 381,768 50.26% No 377,773 49.74% Valid votes 759,541 98.43% Invalid or blank votes 12,120 1.57% Total votes 771,661 100.00%
Results by county Yes   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

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City of Portland Mayoral elections 2011 2015 2019 2023
v t e

Maine Question 1, formally An Act to Legalize Marijuana,^[1] is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It was qualified for the ballot after a Maine Superior Court judge ordered that petitions rejected by the Maine Secretary of State be reconsidered. The proposal sought to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Maine for those over the age of 21, and institute a 10 percent tax on its sale. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.

According to uncertified results, the referendum passed by 50.3% to 49.7%, a margin of under 5,000 votes. On November 10, two days after the election, the Associated Press called the result in favor of the "Yes" vote.^[2] However, opponents of the measure requested a recount and then withdrew their request on December 17.^[3][4]

After the partially completed recount, the results were certified as 381,768 in favor and 377,773 opposed.^[5] As of 2024, Question 1's results remain the narrowest margin of victory for any successful marijuana legalization measure in U.S. history.