Supreme Court delivers blow to Maine GOP petition seeking to end ranked-choice voting
Earlier this month, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer effectively cleared the way for ranked-choice voting to continue to be used in Maine.
The controversial voting system passed via ballot initiative in 2016, garnering 52% support statewide and is most notably remembered for delivering then-Democratic challenger Jared Golden a narrow win against then-Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin in 2018.
Back in September, Maine’s Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the system by the Maine GOP.
Ranked-choice voting itself allows voters to rank all candidates by preference and for a voter’s next choice to be considered only if their first choice isn’t deemed viable - meaning a candidate must secure a majority of the votes before being considered a winner and no vote is effectively wasted on non-viable candidates.
This process has drawn scrutiny from Maine GOP officials who see the voting method as unconstitutional. They argue that the measure unfairly alters the standard by which a candidate must win, making a candidate secure a majority of the votes (50 percent plus one), as opposed to the current threshold only. This means a candidate simply winning the most votes as opposed to acquiring majority support indirectly as ranked-choice voting seeks to do.
Maine Republicans petitioned for the Supreme Court to intervene, an appeal that placed the state Supreme Court’s opinion on hold. The petition went to Justice Breyer, who heads a five-judge panel that handles emergency appeals from the geographic area encompassing Maine.
Breyer turned down the request without comment and without referring the appeal to the full court, indicating Breyer was not swayed by the state GOP’s plea.
The five-judge panel soon thereafter determined that the Maine Secretary of State acted properly in rejecting a proposed GOP-sponsored ballot referendum on the future status of the ranked-choice voting in Maine.
The panel affirmed the Maine Supreme Court’s earlier opinion stating the status of the voting method had already been settled upon its adoption via ballot referendum in 2016.
The court decision concludes a months-long, bitter battle involving the Maine GOP and ranked-choice voting proponents and effectively clears the way for Maine to become the first state in the United States to use the system for a presidential election.
The voting system has earned special attention, from proponents and detractors alike, for the role it’ll play in one of the most closely-watched Senate Elections nationwide that is pitting Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon (D) against four-term incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R).
The outcome is widely expected to determine whether Republicans are able to maintain their current majority in the U.S Senate as Democrats only need a net gain of four seats to secure an outright majority, or three seats assuming Joe Biden wins the Presidency as the vice president acts as a tie-breaking vote.
As key races in Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina appear to currently favor Democrats, Republicans are eyeing Maine, a closer race, as an opportunity to curb any further Democratic gains and the possibility of Democratic control over the Senate.
However, with an increasingly competitive Senate map that has seen Montana, Iowa and South Carolina also move into the realm of competitive races, Republicans are seeking to save an increasingly embattled Collins. This effort that now faces a major setback as ranked-choice voting is set to be used in Maine this November.
~ Aaron Mills `24
