Maine voters reject effort to restore pine tree flag

By Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily News Staff

Maine rejected an effort to change the state flag in Tuesday’s election, capping a passionate debate that has taken place for decades over the state’s culture and history.

Question 5 was rejected by 55.3 percent of voters to 44.7 percent in favor when the Bangor Daily News and its national election partner, Decision Desk HQ, called the referendum at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Polling released ahead of the election showed Mainers were likely to defeat Question 5. The design before voters came from a Gardiner architect who submitted one of the more than 400 ideas to a contest the state held over the summer. It was similar to the flag used from 1901 to 1909, featuring a pine tree and blue star on a buff background.

The outcome followed years of failed attempts by lawmakers to go back to the “lone pine” design that served as Maine’s first official flag until the Legislature voted to adopt the current design featuring the state seal with a pine tree, moose, farmer and seaman on a blue background. 

Reasons for the change were not officially recorded, though historians noted many of the lawmakers serving at the time of the change were Civil War veterans who may have preferred the state seal design due to its similarity to flags they carried in battle.

Past legislation to restore the original pine tree design that has become a familiar sight outside homes and on Maine-branded apparel failed in 1991, 1996, 2019 and 2021. The Legislature finally approved a bill last year from then-Rep. Sean Paulhus, D-Bath, featuring an amendment from Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, to let voters decide the matter.

The rhetoric over the flag intensified at times. Defenders of the state seal design argued it contains people and symbols important to Maine’s history and heritage, with a segment of the pro-state seal crowd even turning the question into a culture war while others noted the pine tree design is similar to the controversial “Appeal to Heaven” flag.

Supporters of the original design noted the current version looks similar to flags in numerous other states while the lone pine version honors the Pine Tree State, with the blue “North Star” capturing Maine’s location and its motto of “Dirigo,” Latin for “I lead.”Voters who opposed the referendum expressed on Tuesday either criticism for the proposed design or hesitation to change.

“Tradition, I guess,” Delores Cote of Brunswick said in explaining her vote against the question. “Maybe because I’m 77, and that’s the flag I’ve looked at all my life.”