Why Maine lawmakers pulled back on ranked choice voting expansion

Yahoo

16 hours ago

Jun. 27—Lawmakers recalled a bill from Gov. Janet Mills' desk that would have allowed ranked choice voting to be used in the 2026 gubernatorial race after Mills signaled she would veto the bill.
Advocates say they recalled the bill, which had been approved by both chambers, so they could ask the Maine Law Court to revisit its 2017 advisory opinion stating that using the voting method for state-level races would unconstitutional.
"Unfortunately, we learned from the governor's staff that she was likely to veto the bill, so recalling it and pursuing the solemn occasion seems to be the best path forward," lobbyist Clara McConnell said in an June 25 email obtained by the Press Herald. "It looks like the solemn occasion won't move forward today, but we hope to initiate it during a special session or the second regular session."
Aids for Mills, who was attorney general when the advisory opinion was issued, did not respond to questions Friday about the governor's concerns with the bill.
A "solemn occasion" is a formal request for the courts to settle legislative disputes. But they can only be requested by the Legislature, which adjourned for the year on Wednesday, effectively closing the door on that option until next year.
The Senate could take up the measure in a special session, something that might be necessary to respond to the federal budget proposal being pushed by Trump and Congressional Republicans that could prompt major cuts to Medicaid.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Round Pond, could not be reached on Friday.
Advocates had been working behind the scenes in the final week of the session to draft the request for lawmakers to consider, according to emails obtained by the Press Herald.
A draft was available on June 18, the final day of the session, and supporters hoped the Senate would act when they returned June 25 to vote on additional spending bills. But instead, lawmakers only recalled the bill and did not take up the request.
Rep. Laura Supica, D-Bangor, said she didn't know why the Senate failed to act.
"It's very clear that the people of Maine want ranked choice voting and that they did it specifically because of the gubernatorial race and guess what's coming up right around the corner?" said Supica, a cosponsor of the bill. "The fact that it was sent to the governor's desk and was recalled does give me anxiety."
The 2026 race is wide open since Mills cannot seek reelection because of term limits. The contest is generating a lot of interest from both parties and at least one viable third-party candidate — Sen. Rick Bennett, of Oxford, who unenrolled from the Republican Party to run as an independent.
Maine first adopted ranked choice voting through a 2016 citizens referendum. The move came largely as a response to the 2010 governor's race, in which long-shot Republican candidate Paul LePage took office with just under 38% of the vote, after the Democratic candidate and a third-party challenger split the opposition.
LePage then won reelection in 2014 in another three-way contest without receiving more than 50% of the vote.
An advisory opinion from the Maine Law Court in 2017 said the voting method could not be used to elect a governor, state senator or state representative, because the state's constitution says those offices are to be elected by plurality. The court ruled the method could be used in other elections, including federal races and state-level primaries.
But proponents have argued that Alaska's top court effectively dismantled the reasoning behind Maine's opinion in a 2022 case involving ranked choice voting and a similar constitutional requirement that governors must be elected by a plurality.
While Maine's court essentially viewed each ranking and runoff as separate elections, Alaska's court held that the election is only final after the final tabulation and that process does not conflict with the constitutional requirement that the winner is determined by who gets the most votes.
Alaska's court also criticized Maine's advisory opinion for only offering "two brief paragraphs deciding the issue, with little accompanying analysis" and pointed to 9th U.S. Circuit Court's opinion about a similar dispute in San Francisco.
"After citizens cast their ranked-choice ballots, they do not later update those ballots or cast new votes," Alaska's court ruled. "Instead, the RCV system initiates another round of tabulation with the same set of vote preferences. Because an RCV ballot is a single ballot—and each vote a single vote—the Ninth Circuit rejected the claim that the first round of tabulation is somehow final (rather than a single step in a longer process)."
Mike Saxl, a lobbyist with Maine Street Solutions who worked with advocates on the bill, said there is still a chance that ranked choice voting could be used in the 2026 election, but any delays in acting early in the second session could make it difficult for the Secretary of State to implement.
"Even if there isn't enough time to do it, it's still good policy for 2030," he said.
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