Maine Question 5, 2016

Question 5: Citizen Initiative
An Act To Establish Ranked-Choice Voting

Maine Question 5, formally An Act to Establish Ranked-Choice Voting,[1] is a citizen-initiated referendum question that qualified for the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot and was approved by a margin of 52% to 48%.[2] It has changed how most Maine elections will be conducted from a plurality voting system to a ranked choice voting system (also known as instant runoff voting). It appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two U.S. House seats, the Legislature, five other ballot questions, and various local elections. Maine will be the first state to use such a system for its statewide elections for governor and U.S. Senate.

Background

In the 11 Maine gubernatorial elections prior to 2016, only incumbent Governors Joe Brennan in 1982 and Angus King in 1998 won more than 50% of the vote.[3] Typically gubernatorial elections have more than two candidates; the 2010 election had five candidates, with Paul LePage emerging as the winner with 37.6% of the vote.[4] Some public opinion felt that his victory was due to opponents of LePage dividing their votes between Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell and independent candidate Eliot Cutler.[5]

Proposals to enact ranked choice voting have been introduced in the Legislature as early as 2003, but were rejected.,[6][7] After a 2010 charter change, the city of Portland began electing its mayor using ranked choice voting in 2011. There were new legislative proposals in 2011, though they were rejected as well.[8] In 2014, upon releasing his supporters to vote for someone else in the 2014 election, Eliot Cutler encouraged his supporters to support ranked choice voting.[9] Led by former independent State Senator Dick Woodbury, Ranked Choice Voting collected more than the 61,123 valid signatures necessary to put a proposal to voters, collecting some 40,000 on Election Day 2014. The group collected 75,369 signatures and delivered them to Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap by October 19, 2015. Dunlap ultimately certified 64,687 signatures by November 18, 2015, which put the proposal on the November 2016 ballot.[10]

Per the Maine Constitution, the proposal went to the Legislature in its 2016 session, but it did not act on the measure.On January 20, 2016, the Maine House of Representatives voted to place the proposal on the ballot without holding a public hearing, over the objections of Republicans, led by Rep. Heather Sirocki, expressing concern about the constitutionality of the proposal.[11] Secretary of State Dunlap released the final wording of the question on June 23 as it will appear on the ballot: "Do you want to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative, and to have ballots counted at the state level in multiple rounds in which last-place candidates are eliminated until a candidate wins by majority?"[12]

Constitutionality

Some, including a Deputy Secretary of State and a state legislator, have expressed concern about the constitutionality of the proposal. Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn has said that the Maine Constitution requires that the Governor and state legislators be elected with a plurality of votes and that a system based on ranked choice voting could be challenged in court. Flynn also expressed concern that the proposal inserts the Secretary of State into the process, while the Constitution states that votes shall be tabulated by municipal officials.[11] Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has issued an opinion at the request of Maine Senate President Michael Thibodeau stating that while the referendum must appear on the ballot, it will likely require amending the Maine Constitution to implement it, in order to satisfy the concerns given by the Secretary of State's office. She added that the manner in which the proposal addresses how a tie in the voting should be addressed, drawing lots, directly conflicts with Article V of the Maine Constitution, which states that a tie in the vote for Governor would be settled by the Maine Legislature meeting in joint session to choose a winner.[13]

The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting Maine dismisses such concerns, noting that a majority vote is always a plurality vote and that such a system has survived legal challenges in several other states. Its website statement also links to statements by several Maine law professors supporting its arguments.[14]

Campaign

Supporters of the proposal, led by Ranked Choice Voting Maine, contend that it will lead to people voting for the candidate that they support and end strategic voting to vote merely for the candidate that they think will win, and that the ranked choice system will result in a candidate that has some level of support from a majority of voters. They further contend that ranked choice voting will result in less negative campaigning, as candidates will need to appeal to a broad coalition of voters beyond their base of supporters to gain support as a second or third choice, if needed. If approved, it would make Maine the first state to use ranked choice voting for its statewide elections.

Notable endorsements

Supporters

Opponents

Polling

Date of opinion poll Conducted by Sample size
(likely voters)		 Yes No Undecided Margin of Error
October 20-25, 2016[27] University of New Hampshire 761 49% 31% 20% ±3.6%
September 15-20, 2016[28] University of New Hampshire 506 48% 29% 23% ±4.3%

References

  1. ↑ https://www1.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/citizensguide2016.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/maine-ballot-measure-5-allow-ranked-choice-voting
  3. ↑ "Maine group launching campaign for ranked-choice voting". Bangor Daily News/Lewiston SunJournal. October 12, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2010 Governor General Election Tabulations". Office of the Maine Secretary of State. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Maine lawmakers seek to end strategic voting, 'spoilers' with petition for ranked-choice voting". Bangor Daily News. October 27, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Bill seeks to assure majority vote wins". Bangor Daily News. February 20, 2003. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "A Better Way to Vote". Bangor Daily News. March 14, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Bill to create Maine presidential primary, adopt ranked-choice voting comes with hefty price tag". Bangor Daily News. May 6, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Cutler says victory is 'long shot,' tells supporters to vote accordingly". Bangor Daily News. October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Citizens' initiative for ranked-choice voting found valid with 64,687 signatures". Office of the Maine Secretary of State. November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Maine officials, legislators question legality of ranked-choice voting". Kennebec Journal. January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Maine secretary of state revises wording of all five November ballot questions". Bangor Daily News. June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Maine attorney general says ranked-choice voting may require amending constitution". Portland Press Herald. March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Does ranked choice voting raise any constitutional questions?". Committee for Ranked Choice Voting. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 "Endorsements". Ranked Choice Voting Maine. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "Maine Voices: Republican, Democrat and independent vote for ranked-choice elections". Portland Press Herald. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "www.wcsh6.com/news/politics/former-vt-governor-touts-instant-runoff-voting-in-maine/284558325".
  18. ↑ "www.cumberlandcounty.org/489/History-of-Cumberland-County-Commissione".
  19. ↑ "news.keepmecurrent.com/the-center-road-democracys-past-present-future".
  20. ↑ "Our View: Ranked-choice voting is right for Maine". October 16, 2016.
  21. ↑ "www.timesrecord.com/news/2014-11-13/Editorial/Ranked_Choice.html".
  22. ↑ http://www.pressherald.com/2016/10/23/question-5-advocates-try-to-allay-confusion/
  23. ↑ "LePage: Action on shootings should take mental illness into consideration". Bangor Daily News. June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Ranked Choice Voting: Wrong for Maine & Blatantly Unconstitutional". Maine Wire. March 29, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  25. ↑ http://www.ellsworthamerican.com/opinions/ranked-choice-voting/
  26. ↑ http://bangordailynews.com/2016/10/19/opinion/editorials/the-reasons-for-maine-to-adopt-ranked-choice-voting-are-unconvincing/?utm_source=BDN+News+Updates&utm_campaign=2180de1cc7-RSS_AFTERNOONUPDATE_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_715eed3192-2180de1cc7-82420600&goal=0_715eed3192-2180de1cc7-82420600
  27. ↑ http://www.pressherald.com/2016/10/31/margins-of-support-shrink-for-3-of-the-6-maine-ballot-issues-poll-indicates/
  28. ↑ http://www.centralmaine.com/2016/09/29/poll-suggests-mainers-open-to-changing-the-way-they-vote/

External links

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