‘An Act To Implement Ranked-choice Voting in 2021’
| HP1137 LD 1646 |
Session - 128th Maine Legislature C "B", Filing Number H-568, Sponsored by
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LR 2379 Item 3 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Implement Ranked-choice Voting in 2021’
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 27-C in paragraph C by striking out all of the last 5 lines (page 1, lines 12 to 16 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 27-C by inserting at the end the following:
‘ This subsection is repealed December 1, 2021 unless, prior to that date, the voters of the State ratify an amendment to the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part First, Section 5,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 authorizing 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.’
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1, sub-§35-A, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 3, §2, is amended to read:
This subsection is repealed December 1, 2021 unless, prior to that date, the voters of the State ratify an amendment to the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part First, Section 5,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 authorizing 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.’
Amend the bill in section 2 in paragraph J by inserting at the end the following:
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Amend the bill in section 5 in subsection 1 by striking out all of the first sentence (page 2, lines 5 to 8 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘In a primary election held before December 1, 2021, the person who receives a plurality of the votes cast for nomination to any office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that office, is nominated for that office, except for write-in candidates under paragraph A. In a primary election held on or after December 1, 2021, the person who is determined the winner pursuant to section 723-A for nomination to any office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that office, is nominated for that office, except for write-in candidates under paragraph A.’
Amend the bill by adding after section 9 the following:
‘Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§6, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 3, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
Sec. 12. Secretary of State to report. The Secretary of State shall conduct an evaluation of implementation of ranked-choice voting for primary elections for the offices of United States Senator, United States Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State Representative and general and special elections for the offices of United States Senator and United States Representative to Congress, including, but not limited to, identification of statutory conflicts between Initiated Bill 2015, chapter 3 as amended by this Act and relevant provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes. The evaluation must include an estimate of the costs associated with the implementation of ranked-choice voting. No later than January 2, 2019, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election matters, including recommended legislation, for the administration of ranked-choice voting for the elections as described in this section. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election matters is authorized to submit legislation based on the report described in this section to the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature.
Sec. 13. Contingent legislation. If the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 21-A, section 723-A is repealed pursuant to Title 21-A, section 723-A, subsection 7, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election matters shall submit a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature to reflect the repeal of ranked-choice voting provisions found in the Maine Revised Statutes.’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment delays the implementation of ranked-choice voting until elections held after December 1, 2021. This amendment provides that the laws governing ranked-choice voting are repealed unless the Constitution of Maine is amended to authorize the Legislature to determine the method by which the Governor and members of the Legislature are elected. The amendment requires the Secretary of State to submit a report on the implementation of ranked-choice voting to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election matters no later than January 2, 2019.