Ranked Choice Voting Bill Advances in Maine Legislature

The Maine Senate and House of Representatives have advanced a bill to allow ranked choice voting in statewide elections, including for governor. This move may lead to a potential court confrontation, given a 2017 advisory opinion from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court stating that ranked choice voting for state-level offices conflicts with the state Constitution.

Ranked choice voting is currently used in Maine for federal offices and in gubernatorial and state-level primary elections. Some cities, such as Portland and Westbrook, also use this system for local elections. Proponents argue that the Alaska Supreme Court's decision in 2014 upholds the constitutionality of ranked choice voting, while opponents claim that the bill would conflict with the Maine Law Court's advisory opinion and expand a confusing system.

Key Takeaways:

• The bill, sponsored by Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Round Pond, passed the House of Representatives with a 72-70 vote and the Senate with a 20-14 vote.
• The bill would extend ranked choice voting to gubernatorial and legislative races by clarifying the definition of the system and changing references to "votes" to "ballots."
• The current Maine Law Court advisory opinion states that ranked choice voting cannot be used to elect state offices, citing that the state Constitution requires offices to be determined by a plurality of votes.
• Proponents argue that the Alaska Supreme Court's decision in 2014 dismantled the Maine Law Court's advisory opinion, upholding the constitutionality of ranked choice voting.
• Opponents claim that the bill would be unconstitutional and expand a confusing system.
• The bill faces further votes in each chamber before it can be sent to Gov. Janet Mills for consideration.
• Maine became the first state in the nation to adopt ranked choice voting in 2016, after it was approved through a citizen's initiative.
• The ranked choice voting system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference; the candidate with the least number of votes in each round is eliminated and their second-choice votes are redistributed until a candidate surpasses 50% of the vote.

Statistics:

• 72-70 was the vote in the House of Representatives.
• 20-14 was the vote in the Senate.
• In 2016, Maine became the first state in the nation to adopt ranked choice voting after a citizen's initiative.
• 2010 was the year the push for ranked choice voting came largely in response to the governor's race, which longshot Republican candidate Paul LePage won with just under 38% of the vote.
• 2014 was the year LePage won reelection in another three-way without receiving more than 50% of the vote.

Sources:

• The Maine Supreme Judicial Court advisory opinion (2017)
• The Alaska Supreme Court decision (2014)
• The Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
• Tribune Content Agency, LLC