Republicans face a challenge in getting their initiative on the ballot next year. In addition to clearing the ballot question language with the Maine Revisor of Statutes, the party also must await a fiscal impact note from the Office of Fiscal and Program Review, the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office. By law, the office has 15 days to draft the fiscal note, which estimates the cost of a ballot question. Even if the ballot questions clear the revisor and fiscal process without a hitch, the party may not be able to begin circulating its petitions by Election Day, Nov. 3. That is often a key day for the party and activists to collect signatures. In 2014, a campaign working to install ranked-choice voting in Maine obtained over 36,000 signatures on Election Day, more than half of what it needed to get on the 2016 ballot. - www.pressherald.com