Maisey Jefferson writes for the Federalist about a significant state court ruling in the northeastern United States.
In a Monday advisory opinion, the Maine Supreme Court unanimously determined that legislation aimed at expanding the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in the state would, “if enacted, violate the Maine Constitution.”
“[T]his decision provides clarity against efforts to pollute our state elections with Ranked-Choice Voting,” Maine Republican Party Chairman Jim Deyermond said in a statement. “This decision should, finally, end the attempts from the radical left to force RCV into Maine’s elections for Governor, Senate, and House.”
As The Federalist has previously reported, RCV is a voting method in which voters “rank” candidates on the ballot. If none of the nominees win a majority in the first round of voting, the candidate in last place is eliminated. His votes go to whichever candidate was ranked second. The process continues until one candidate receives a majority.
Monday’s decision comes weeks after the state legislature asked the court to weigh in on the constitutionality of bill LD 1666, which would expand the voting method in the state to apply to general and special elections for governor, state representative, and state senator. Maine currently uses RCV in primary elections and general elections for federal office.
The justices found that “the proposed legislation would, if enacted, violate the Maine Constitution’s provisions for the election of State Representatives, State Senators, and the Governor by a plurality of all votes.”
As The Federalist has previously reported, Maine’s constitution mandates that these state candidates win an election by a “plurality” of votes. This means securing the highest number of votes when compared to competitors, rather than a majority to win a race.
As Maine’s Democrat Attorney General Aaron Frey argued in a brief to the court last month, RCV undermines elections that only require a “plurality” to win by imposing a method that could ultimately oust a candidate who initially received the most votes.
