Before the approval of ranked-choice voting in the November 8, 2016 election, there were several previous attempts in the Maine legislature to enact ranked-choice voting, also referred to as instant-runoff voting. These attempts date back to the 120th Legislature (2001). A list of previous attempts to enact ranked-choice/instant runoff voting in Maine with links to legislative history information on those bills can be accessed on the left hand menu. (Note: there have also been attempts before and after 2001 to create a runoff system if candidates didn't receive at least 50% of the vote. Information about those bills is not included here but can be obtained by contacting the library.)

On November 8, 2016 Maine voters approved Question 5 and became the first state to enact ranked-choice voting for statewide elections for governor, state legislature, and Congress. Following a recount and certification of election results the law was enacted as IB 2015, c. 3, “An Act to Establish Ranked-choice Voting”, and codified at the statutory citations listed in the Implementation section to the left. It was to take effect starting with the 2018 statewide elections. For background information on Question 5, the 2016 Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election provides the following:

• Ballot wording of Question 5
• Text of the “An Act to Establish Ranked-choice Voting”
• Summary
• Intent and Content Statement prepared by the Office of the Attorney General
• Fiscal Impact Statement prepared by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review
• Public comments in support of Question 5

On May 23, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court answered questions propounded by the Maine Senate pursuant to Article VI, Section 3 of the Maine Constitution. This advisory opinion focused on Maine Constitution Article IV, pt. 1, § 5, Article IV, pt. 2, § 4, and Article V, pt. 1, § 3. The Justices answered the Maine Senate's Question on whether or not ranked-choice voting violates the aforementioned constitution sections in the affirmative, unanimously ruling ranked-choice voting as unconstitutional in general elections. This court opinion is linked in the left hand menu. Contact a librarian to view the briefs for this case.

In legislative action in response to the May 23 Opinion of the Justices, on November 4, 2017 An Act to Implement Ranked-choice Voting in 2021 became law without the Governor's signature as P.L. 2017, ch. 316. According to the bill summary, this law amended the ranked-choice voting law to bring it into compliance with the Constitution of Maine. This amendment applies ranked-choice voting to only primary elections for Congress, Governor, State Senator, and State Representative starting on December 1, 2021. The bill does not allow ranked-choice voting to be used for general and special elections for the offices of Governor, State Senator, or State Representative unless there is an amendment to the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part First, Section 5, Article IV, Part Second, Sections 4 and 5 and Article V, Part First, Section 3 that authorizes the Legislature, by proper enactment, to determine the method by which the Governor and members of the State Senate and House of Representatives are elected is ratified.

Then, on March 5, 2018, Secretary of State Dunlap certified the people's veto petition for a partial repeal of P.L. 2017, ch. 316, An Act to Implement Ranked-choice Voting in 2021. The language to be vetoed can be found in the Secretary of State's Maine's Citizen's Guide to the Special Referendum Election. This people's veto referendum was successful at the June 12, 2018 election, repealing P.L. 2017, ch. 316. The ballot question was:

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?

In the case The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, et al. v. Matthew Dunlap, on April 4, 2018, The Kennebec County Superior Court ordered the Secretary of State to move forward with implementation of ranked-choice voting for the June, 2018 primary elections. That court opinion is linked in the left hand menu. In response, the Maine Senate voted 21-13 to seek intervenor status in the Kennebec County Superior Court with Senate Order 28.

On April 11, 2018, in the Kennebec County Superior Court, attorneys representing the Maine Senate, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, and the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting agreed on seven questions to be submitted to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The questions were submitted to the state's highest court by Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy. According to a 4/11/2018 Maine Supreme Judicial Court procedural order, written arguments were due on 4/12/2018 and oral arguments occured on the same day. The seven questions were reported by the Portland Press Herald.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court published their opinion on this matter on 4/17/2018, which ruled that the Kennebec County Superior Court's order should stand. As such, ranked-choice voting will be used for the June 12, 2018 primary elections. This will mark first in the nation statewide use of ranked-choice voting.

On May 4, 2018, the Maine Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit to stop the implementation of ranked-choice voting fo the June 12, 2018 primary elections. The 5/4/2018 filing can be found in the left hand menu.

Despite a challenge by the Maine Republican Party, on May 29, 2018, the U.S District Court for the District of Maine ordered that ranked-choice voting be used in the June 12, 2018 primary elections for both parties. This order can be found in the left hand menu.

The Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commission's rules for the implementation of ranked-choice voting can be found in Chapters 535 and 536 of the Bureau's rules. From when the rules were proposed, you can find submitted substantive comments and non-substantive comments. Sample ballots and other resources can also be found on their website here.

A timeline of ranked choice voting in Maine has also been compiled by the Secretary of State and can be viewed here.

Unofficial results for the nation's first statewide use of ranked-choice voting on June 12, 2018 indicate that voters have again approved ranked-choice voting. This people's veto repeals parts of P.L. 2017, ch. 316 (linked at left). According to the Secretary's of State's Guide to the Special Referendum Election, this means that "ranked-choice voting [will] be the method for choosing party nominees in future primary elections for all state and federal offices, and in determining the winners of general elections for U.S. Senate and Congress."

On November 13, 2018, during the tabulation of Maine's ranked-choice election for US House of Representatives for Maine's 2nd Congressional District and as part of a suit filed in federal court, the Bruce Poliquin campaign filed a motion for a permanent injuntion against Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. You can access the order responding to that complaint to the left. Almost concurrently with that order, Jared Golden was declared the winner in the nation's first use of ranked-choice voting to determine a federal office. Despite this, Poliquin's lawsuit continued.

Bruce Poliquin dropped his lawsuit on December 24, 2018, clearing the way for Jared Golden to be seated in Congress.

Multiple proposals to change or expand ranked choice voting in Maine were proposed in the 129th Legislature. One was enacted as P.L. 2019, ch. 320. Governor Mills allowed another to become law without her signature on January 12, 2020, P.L. 2019, ch. 539, which expanded ranked choice voting in Maine to include presidential elections and presidential primaries. A petition for a people's veto of P.L. 2019, ch. 539 was submitted to the Secretary of State for approval, but was rejected due to an insufficient number of valid signatures. On July 27, 2020, the Maine Republican Party appealed the invalidation of signatures on the people's veto petition by the Secretary of State. Before being rejected by the Secretary of State, the Committee For Ranked Choice Voting, supporters of ranked choice voting, filed a lawsuit in Kennebec County Superior Court attempting to stop the people's veto. On September 22, 2020, The Maine Supreme Judicial Court overturned a Superior Court decision that had allowed for the peole's veto to appear on the November 3, 2020 ballot and that delayed the use of ranked choice voting for presidential elections. The Maine Republican Party requested a stay on this Supreme Judicial Court decision, David A. Jones v. Secretary of State that would have otherwise cleared the way for ranked choice voting for the presidential election on November 3, 2020. On October 2, 2020, this stay was denied by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The Maine Republican Party's appeal to the US Supreme Court was rejected on October 6, 2020

A separate lawsuit was filed against the state in July, 2020 by a group of four Maine voters seeking "to vindicate the constitutional rights of Mainers who will soon be denied full participation in the 2020 general election." This lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maine. On August 14, 2020, US District Court Judge Lance Walker concluded that "[His] limited charge [was] to determine only whether the RCV Act is contrary to the text of the United States Constitution. It is not."

News

The library has an extensive collection of news clippings relating to ranked choice voting. Please contact a librarian for more information on available news.