Maine will be the first state in the U.S. to use ranked choice voting in a presidential election this November. Ranked choice voting has faced constant opposition from Republicans and a few other groups in Maine who sought to block it by putting a new referendum on this year’s ballot. Over 1,000 petition signatures were invalidated by a judge, which left the referendum short of the total signatures needed to get on the 2020 ballot. That means Maine will go ahead with ranked choice voting this election.
How It Works
- There will be five presidential candidates on the ballot.
- Voters rank each candidate in order of preference.
- If no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes then last-place finishers are eliminated.
- Their votes then go to the next choice on that ballot.
- This continues until a candidate reaches a majority.
- Results may be delayed for a week as all ballots will be transported to Augusta for computer-aided tabulation.
Ranked choice will be used in the U.S. House and Senate races in the state.
Maine is one of the few states already to divide their electors and could be decisive in a close race. 1 million ballots
Links
Ranked choice voting in Maine a go for presidential election
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Ranked choice voting will be used for the first time in a presidential race in the U.S. under a ruling Tuesday by the Maine Supreme Court, which concluded that a GOP-led...
Maine’s supreme court clears way for ranked-choice voting in presidential election
The court overturned a ruling that would have put a ‘people’s veto’ referendum on the November ballot, thereby blocking Maine voters’ option to rank the presidential candidates.
(Photo from FairVote )