31 May 2018 Ballot Question on June 12, 2018 Referendum Ballot

Posted at 09:34h in Past Candidates and Ballot Questions by chris 0 Comments

QUESTION 1

Regardless of party affiliation, voters are encouraged to get to the polls on June 12 to vote on local ballot initiatives and to vote YES on Question 1 to tell the legislature that the people of Maine veto their repeal of ranked choice voting.

Question 1: Do you want to reject the parts of a new law that would delay the use of ranked-choice voting in the election of candidates for any state or federal office until 2022, and then retain the method only if the constitution is amended by December 1, 2021, to allow ranked-choice voting for candidates in state elections?

A “yes” vote is a vote to overturn sections of Legislative Document 1646 (LD 1646), which was written to postpone and repeal ranked-choice voting (RCV) unless a constitutional amendment is passed before December 1, 2021, to enable the legislature to determine election methods.
A “no” vote is a vote to uphold Legislative Document 1646 (LD 1646), which was written to postpone and repeal ranked-choice voting (RCV) unless a constitutional amendment is passed before December 1, 2021, to enable the legislature to determine election methods.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) was introduced as a Citizen’s Referendum question on the 2016 ballot and was approved by 52% of Maine voters. Since then, the law has been challenged in the courts and in the State House, but Maine is now primed to be the first to use the system in a statewide race. Just weeks before the June election, the courts rebuffed the latest court challenge by Republicans seeking to bar RCV.

While the system is now set for the primaries, Question 1 will determine if it can be used in the general election for federal races and beyond. YES on Question 1, also referred to as “The People’s Veto”, would overturn the legislature’s decision to block the use of RCV until constitutional issues are resolved.

Because RCV will not be used in the general election for governor or state legislature (these positions that require a plurality vote under the Maine constitution), the use of RCV in June for the primary elections and in November for federal elections poses no constitutional problems.

How does ranked choice voting work?

It’s basically an instant runoff. If no candidate receives the majority of votes in the initial vote, the lowest ranked candidate in removed, and his/her voters’ second choices are allocated to the remaining candidates. This process continues until one candidate has a majority of the votes still in play. You don’t have to rank candidates, but those who choose not to won’t have a voice in the run-off rounds if their first choice is eliminated. Still confused? Here’s a fabulous short video!

What elections will RCV be used for?

RCV will be used in primary races that have more than two candidates. On June 12, this includes Democratic and Republican Gubernatorial primaries, the Democratic primary for US Rep for CD2, and the Republican. If Question 1 is approved in June, RCV will also be used for any federal races that have more than two candidates in the future.