Here is a look at the new state flag design Mainers will vote on this November

Adam Lemire of Gardiner with Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows showing the design for a new state flag that voters will decide on in November. (Courtesy of the Maine Department of the Secretary of State)

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows revealed the winner of the Maine State Flag Redesign Contest on Monday in Augusta.

The new design was the work of Adam Lemire of Gardiner. Although it closely resembles the flag bearing a pine tree and blue star already seen across the state, there are a few intentional details in Lemire’s version. The tree in the design represents an Eastern White Pine, Maine’s state tree, and has 16 branches to represent the 16 counties.

“The design is based on those I observed in Capital Park and Viles Arboretum while on walks with my three-year-old son,” Lemire said. “The final design is primarily based on an Eastern White Pine in Governor’s Grove at Viles Arboretum.”

Voters will be asked whether they wish to adopt Lemire’s flag design as the official state flag in Question 5 on the Nov. 5 ballot. The question will read: Do you favor making the former state flag, replaced as the official flag of the State in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag, the official flag of the State?

If enough voters support the new design, it will replace the current state flag that is blue with the crest in the middle.

There were more than 400 submissions to Bellow’s design contest from artists in more than 40 states and even abroad. Bellows had help in selecting the winner by the Maine State Archivist, Maine State Historian, a handful of Republican and Democratic lawmakers and a retired journalist.

Contest submissions had to adhere to the specifications outlined in a law that passed last year, which described the colors, spacing and other details that needed to be incorporated in the design.

“Our flag is something every Mainer should be proud of and I look forward to seeing what Mainers across our state choose,” said state Sen. Tim Nangle (D-Cumberland), chair of the State and Local Government Committee.

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