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On February 16, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, a Bush Jr. appointee, issued a 76-page order in We the People PAC v Bellows, 1:20cv-489. The order enjoins the Maine ban on out-of-state circulators for initiatives. It also enjoins the Maine law requiring initiative circulators to be registered voters.
The order is somewhat surprising, because the Maine State Supreme Court had twice upheld the same laws, in 1998 and again just last September. Also in 1999 a U.S. District Court in Maine had upheld the law. Furthermore, even Judge Woodcock himself had declined last month to issue a temporary restraining order against the restrictions.