Maine's Constitutional Officers Chosen by Lawmakers, Not Voters: A Push for Change

Maine stands alone among the states in allowing its Legislature to fill four major constitutional offices by secret ballot, a system critics say undermines democratic accountability and concentrates too much power in the hands of elected lawmakers.

Every four years, the Maine Legislature is responsible for selecting the state's attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, and state auditor. Unlike most other states, where voters have direct say in these positions, Mainers have no vote on who fills these roles. The attorney general's post, in particular, draws attention because it is filled by direct election in 43 other states.

Aaron Frey has held the attorney general position since 2018. Before that, he served two terms in the Maine Legislature, where his colleagues chose him to succeed Janet Mills as the state's chief law enforcement officer and legal advisor.

The central criticism of the current system is that it makes Maine's top law enforcement officer accountable to a majority of the 186 state legislators rather than to the public. That arrangement, reform advocates argue, creates a fundamental conflict of interest and discourages independent decision-making.

Harris Van Pate, a policy analyst formerly with the Maine Policy Institute and now a doctoral student in Georgia, outlined the issue in legislative testimony last year. Van Pate told lawmakers that Maine's existing system "heavily favors the majority party in the Legislature, often resulting in appointments that reflect political alliances rather than broad public interest or qualifications for the roles they serve."

The four offices at stake each carry significant responsibilities. The attorney general prosecutes legal cases and provides legal counsel to the state. The secretary of state oversees elections and many business filings. The treasurer manages the state's finances. The state auditor ensures public accounts are kept honestly.

Van Pate also warned that because these offices sometimes investigate corruption, allowing lawmakers to appoint them behind closed doors raises serious concerns about the risk of abuse. "The roles of these offices in investigating corruption means that legislative appointment, especially the nontransparent kind, raises major questions as to the risk of abuse of power due to officeholder bias," Van Pate said in his testimony.

That testimony failed to persuade the Legislature to surrender its appointment power, and the issue remains unresolved heading into this year's selection process, which is expected to take place in Augusta in August.

Beyond questions of accountability, critics point to a second concern: Maine's limited slate of statewide races. With only three offices on the ballot statewide each cycle, both U.S. Senate seats and the governorship, there is little structured way for candidates to build name recognition and demonstrate their abilities before moving on to higher office. The result, reform advocates say, is a scramble each time a constitutional office opens up, often producing weak or untested candidates.

Recent primary elections appeared to underscore that worry. Democrats selected a newcomer for the U.S. Senate nomination, and Republicans tapped a first-time candidate for governor, prompting fresh debate over whether Maine's electoral pipeline is producing strong slates of contenders.

Advocates for change say Maine should join the overwhelming majority of states and let voters choose their attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor directly. Doing so, they argue, would strengthen public accountability, encourage broader civic participation, and reward independent judgment rather than loyalty to a legislative majority.

For now, however, the choice remains in the hands of state lawmakers, who will gather behind closed doors this summer to fill the four positions for the next four years.