Maine Secretary of State, Matt Dunlap (D), announced September 8th that he will Print General Election Ballots using Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) for President after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Blocked a Lower Court’s Decision on a RCV Veto Referendum. Pending a Final Ruling from the State Supreme Judicial Court, Maine is tentatively slated to be the First State to use RCV in a Presidential Election.
The Maine Republican Party is supporting a Veto Referendum to Overturn Legislative Document 1083 (LD 1083), which established RCV for Presidential Primaries and General Elections. Proponents filed 72,512 Signatures with the Secretary of State on June 15th, of which 63,067 needed to be Valid. Dunlap’s Office determined 62,143 Signatures were Valid, a difference of 924.
A State Superior Court Judge ruled August 24th that Dunlap should Not have Rejected 988 Signatures because the Petition Circulators were Not Registered to Vote when they were Collecting Signatures. The Judge Reinstated the Signatures after Determining that Circulators were Only Required to be Registered to Vote when the Signatures were Submitted, Not Collected.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a Stay but has Not yet Decided on the Merits of the Case. It leaves in place the Secretary of State’s Original Determination that Supporters of the Veto Referendum against LD 1083 did Not Collect enough Signatures to Place the Measure on the Ballot.
Oral Arguments in the Case are Scheduled for September 15th. Maine Mails the Mail-in-Ballots on Oct. 4th and needs time for the Printers to Print them.
If the Top Court sides with Republicans, RCV would be put On-Hold for the Presidential Race in November 2020, and Voters would likely decide the Ballot Measure at the next Statewide Election. If the Court Sides with Dunlap and the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, then Voters would Rank their Candidates by Preference in the Presidential Race and the Veto Question would be dead.
Voters will be Able to Rank all Five Presidential Candidates that will Appear on the Ballot, in terms of Preference including: Donald Trump (R); Joe Biden (D); Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian); Howard Hawkins (Green), and Rocky De La Fuente (Alliance Party).
Superior Courts in Maine are the State's Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction. It is One of Three Levels of Trial Courts, along with District and Probate Courts. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the Court of Last Resort and has Appellate Jurisdiction of All Cases. There are Six Judges currently serving on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and One Vacancy. Democratic Governors Appointed Four of the Court's Justices. Republican Governors Appointed Two Justices.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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