THE COASTAL PACKET: Ranked choice voting heads for the ballot

Tuesday, March 6

Ranked choice voting heads for the ballot

Independent Voter Network -It’s been a rough and uncertain road for ranked choice voting in Maine. It was the first statewide ranked choice initiative in the nation to get approval from voters, was made law in 2017, survived repeal attempts in the regular legislative session, but then was delayed and set for repeal in 2021 during a special session.

But the people of Maine fought back against state politicians, and successfully gathered enough petition signatures to put the people’s veto of an “An Act to Implement Ranked-choice Voting in 2021” on the June 12 primary ballot. Because the petition campaign was successful, ranked choice voting will be used in the Republican and Democratic primaries for all state and federal elections.

Press Herald - Voters also will be asked June 12 whether they want to keep the ranked-choice system for federal elections in November. If that “people’s veto” measure is approved, it would nullify the Legislature’s vote to delay and then repeal the law passed by voters in 2016 unless the Maine Constitution is amended.

In November 2016, 52 percent of voters approved a ballot initiative that would make Maine the first state in the nation to implement ranked-choice voting.

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