Ranked-Choice Voting: Maine's Law And How It Happened

Ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting, was first used in Maine in 2018. The state was the first to adopt the system for federal elections, including the 2020 presidential primaries. The system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, with votes tabulated in rounds. The lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated in each round until only two remain, with the winner being the candidate who receives the majority of the votes in the final round. Ranked-choice voting was approved by Maine voters in 2016 and has since been a topic of legal contention, with several lawsuits and veto attempts. The system is currently used in Maine for primary elections and general elections for federal offices.

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Maine lets voters rank candidates in order of preference

RCV, also known as instant-runoff voting, works by allowing voters to rank as many preferences as they like. If a candidate breaks the 50% threshold of first-place votes, they win the election. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who chose that candidate as their first choice then have their votes allocated to their second choice. This process continues until one candidate reaches a minimum of 50%+1 of the votes.

RCV was first used in Maine in the 2018 congressional election and was expanded to include the first-ever ranked-choice presidential primary in 2020. It is used for all state-level primary elections and, in general elections, only for federal offices, including the office of the U.S. President.

The benefits of RCV are that it gives voters more meaningful choices, eliminates the impact of "spoiler candidates", and produces a majority winner. It also allows voters to support their favourite candidate without worrying about "throwing their vote away". However, critics argue that it is unnecessarily complicated and may disenfranchise voters who don't understand the system.

Voters can rank as many or as few candidates as they like

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Maine allows voters to rank as many or as few candidates as they like. Voters can indicate their first-choice candidate and rank additional candidates in order of preference. If a voter only wants to choose one candidate, they can mark only the first-choice oval for that candidate. Alternatively, they can mark all the ovals across every ranking (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) for their candidate. Both of these options are valid and will result in the voter's choice being counted throughout all the rounds of the RCV process, unless/until that candidate is eliminated from the race.

The RCV process involves multiple rounds of counting. In each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who ranked that candidate as their first choice then have their votes allocated to their second choice. This process continues until one candidate reaches a minimum of 50%+1 of the votes. In a race with more than three candidates, the RCV process is repeated until one candidate has a majority.

RCV gives voters more meaningful choices and allows them to support their favourite candidate without worrying about "throwing their vote away". It also eliminates the impact of "spoiler candidates" and ensures a majority winner.

RCV was first used in Maine in the 2018 congressional election

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) was first used in Maine in the 2018 congressional election. Maine was the first state to use RCV in federal elections, and it has since been expanded to include the first-ever ranked-choice presidential primary in 2020.

RCV was first approved by Maine voters in 2016, when it was put on the ballot as Question 5 and passed with 52% of the vote. However, its implementation was delayed due to legal challenges and debates over its constitutionality.

In 2018, supporters of electoral reform collected signatures to place a people's veto on the ballot, which was successful in repealing the delaying bill. This meant that Maine voters were given the opportunity to vote on whether to preserve RCV while also using it for several primary races. The people's veto, called Question 1, was approved by an even greater majority than the original question in 2016.

The 2018 race for US Congress in District 2 was the first to go through an RCV count. RCV was also used in the Democratic primary elections for governor and the 2nd Congressional District representative.

RCV allows voters to rank their choices based on individual preference. First choices are counted, and if no candidate has a majority of the vote, an "instant runoff" occurs, where the candidate with the least support is eliminated. This process is repeated until one candidate has a majority.

RCV gives voters more meaningful choices and allows candidates from outside the two major parties to compete. It helps create a richer dialogue on the issues and increases the diversity of views available for voters to consider. It also eliminates spoilers and strategic voting, as voters can support their favorite candidate without worrying about throwing their vote away or splitting their votes with like-minded voters.

RCV was expanded to include the first-ever ranked-choice presidential primary in 2020

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) was first used in Maine during the June 12, 2018, primary election. On January 12, 2020, Governor Mills allowed a bill to become law without her signature—P.L. 2019, Ch. 539—which expanded RCV in Maine to include presidential elections and presidential primaries.

The 2020 Maine Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests on Super Tuesday. Governor Janet Mills had signed a bill to return the state's nominating contest from a caucus to a primary, matching a national trend. However, Governor Mills delayed the implementation of RCV until after the 2020 primary.

The 2020 United States presidential election in Maine was held on November 3, 2020. Voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. Maine became the first state to use RCV for a presidential general election, with voters able to rank their preferred candidates on the ballot. Majorities were reached in the first round of voting statewide and in each congressional district, so RCV tabulation was not required.

RCV has been criticised for being unnecessarily complicated and disenfranchising voters

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) has faced criticism for being unnecessarily complicated and disenfranchising voters. In an experiment conducted by Jesse Clark, it was found that RCV produced significantly lower levels of voter confidence, voter satisfaction, and ease of use. The system also increased the perception that the voting process was biased against the respondent's party and added nearly 12 seconds per candidate to the voting process.

However, Clark's second study, which surveyed registered Maine voters in the fall of 2019, yielded slightly more encouraging results. Fewer voters found the RCV ballot difficult to fill out, although a majority expressed concern about the potential for "other people" to be confused and spoil their ballots. This may be a way of signalling that the respondents themselves were confused by the ballot design.

RCV has also been criticised for not delivering on its promise of making campaigns more civil. In fact, Clark's research found that negative spending increased significantly in Maine following the implementation of RCV.

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