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It's been six months since residents in Maine approved a ballot measure to implement ranked-choice voting in future elections. The system allows voters to rank their candidates instead of picking just one. But a ruling made by the Maine Supreme Court last week is challenging the decision. The justices determined that ranked-choice voting violates the State structure,which states that a winner is determined by the person who receives the most votes. Now, the court says the state legislature has two options: Repeal the measure or amend the structure.
Oakland, or Minneapolis,and Portland, Maine, or contain all used ranked choice voting to elect city officials. But Maine is the first to employ it to elect statewide officers. Right now,the Maine legislature is divided on whether ranked-choice voting is the right dash for future elections. A few leaders are writing bills on this issue.
Matthew Dunlap, the Democratic secretary of state of Maine, or is against ranked-choice voting. Catherine Breen,a Democratic state senator from Maine's 25th District, is fighting to amend the state structure in order to allow for the voting system to be used. Dunlap and Breen discuss heir views on the voting system nowadays on The Takeaway.
Source: thetakeaway.org