Maine Voters Can’t Use Ranked Choice Voting for Governor

Maine Voters in the 2018 Midterms Elections are the First State in the Nation to use Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) for U.S. Senate and House General Elections. The Reform is changing the Campaign Dynamics in the State as Candidates seek not only the First Choice of Voters, but the Second, or even Third Choice.

Still, there is one sticking point that is causing many Voters to scratch their heads: Why can’t they use the same Voting Method for Governor and State Legislative Races.

Lewiston City Clerk Kathy Montejo says, “Many residents who have been Voting Absentee have had no problems using ranked choice voting to Select their Preferred Candidates for U.S. House and Senate. But when it’s time to fill out their gubernatorial ballots, They say, ‘Hey, how come I can’t do this for governor?’ Montejo says.

The reason RCV is not used in Gubernatorial and State Legislative Races is a Non-Binding Advisory Opinion by the Maine Supreme Court that said the RCV Law, as Passed by Voters in 2016, could be found in Conflict with the a State Constitutional Provision that says State Elections could be Decided by Plurality.

The Opinion of the Court only Applied to Governor and State Legislative General Elections. But it wasn’t a Ruling. The Maine Supreme Court did not Rule the RCV Law Unconstitutional. It was an Advisory Opinion that State Officials used to Limit the Use of RCV.

In the end, Compromise Legislation Delayed Full Implementation of RCV until December 2021, and if the Legislature didn’t Pass a Constitutional Amendment by then, RCV would be Repealed Entirely. With the narrowly-divided Legislature’s Record of Uncompromising Gridlock, this essentially set RCV up for Full Repeal.

However, Maine Voters Overturned the Actions of the State Legislature in June, Approving a People’s Veto that would allow RCV to be used in not just the Primary for All State and Non-Presidential Federal Elections, but for U.S. House and Senate General Elections. Approximately 50,000 more People Voted on the People’s Veto than the Primary Elections for Governor.

So in 2018, the Multi-Candidate Races in both Congressional Districts and the U.S. Senate Race in Maine will Not Be Decided by a Minority of Voters as they might have in the past but by RCV. This will surely stick out among many Voters as the Winner of the Three-way Race for Governor will likely Not be Decided by Majority Consensus.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker