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Over the last few years, it has become clear that a lot of people around the state have strong feelings about Maine’s flag. Some want to keep the current flag, with a blue background featuring the state seal with a pine tree, moose, farmer and seaman. Others want to revert back to the 1901 version of Maine’s flag, with a lone green pine tree and a blue star set in a buff background.
The debate in the Legislature and across Maine has been robust, even surprisingly strident at times. Like we said, people have some strong feelings about the state flag and what it says about being a Mainer.
As the debate looks like it could now extend into 2026, our strongest feeling is this: just pick one already.
Or, more precisely, just let the people pick one already. Lawmakers were right last year to move to extend this decision to Maine voters via referendum. If there were ever to be a straightforward referendum without reams of complicated text buried behind a seemingly simple ballot question, it should be this one. Present voters with two images, one of each flag, and have them choose.
But even simple isn’t simple, apparently. While the flag referendum was supposed to happen this November, it is now looking like voters might not get to make the decision until 2026. Lawmakers have advanced a bill that would create a five-member commission to help the secretary of state in approving the design of a potential new flag, and push the referendum vote two years into the future. The flag commission would include the secretary of state, the state archivist, an expert in graphic design, a representative of a statewide arts and culture organization, and an expert in vexillology, which is the study of flags.
Republican Sen. Rick Bennett, one of the lawmakers who opposed creating the commission, summed up our feelings succinctly.
“I think it’s about time we make a decision on this,” Bennett said, as reported by Maine Public. “The people of Maine are ready.”
Perhaps it is our lack of vexillological experience showing, but we continue to be vexed with this entire debate, especially the pace of it.
We’re all for measuring twice and cutting once, on any project. And we understand that especially with this being a presidential election year, the hardworking folks in the secretary of state’s office already have a lot of critical work to attend to.
That ultimately begs the question, is reconsidering Maine’s flag important enough to garner this much attention from state policymakers in the first place? Don’t they have other more pressing, more impactful issues to be debating and acting on? Plenty of other people have asked the same questions.
Sen. Eric Brakey, a Republican who helped steer the Legislature in the good direction of a referendum rather than having lawmakers decide on the flag themselves, addressed the criticism last year about state leaders having more important issues to consider.
“I think we can walk,” Brakey said last year, “and chew gum at the same time.”
Nearly 10 months later, folks in Augusta have been chewing on this particular gum for long enough. Enough is enough, put the two flags in front of the Maine people and let them decide.