The Second Most Important Vote on November 8: Maine's Question 5

Published: 04 Nov, 2016

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Updated: 17 Oct, 2022

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1 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtSH7n9NZFw

Maine’s “Question 5” is a citizen initiative that, if passed on November 8, would implement Ranked Choice Voting, for all statewide elections.

Our current voting method, First Past the Post (aka Plurality), is one of the simplest methods of conducting democratic elections. This simplicity comes with a downside, however, and many experts on voting methods claim it is one of, if not the worst methods in regards to capturing the true sentiment of the public.

We spoke with and recorded the citizens who got Ranked Choice Voting on the ballot and the activists involved in educating their communities about the new voting system to learn the history of the initiative and why Maine is THE place to run this electoral experiment.

The story behind Maine's Question 5 is hope, that if it passes on November 8th, the new voting method will combat strategic voting (aka ‘lesser evil voting’), negative campaigns, and the spoiler effect. Things just about everyone can get behind after the tumultuous 2016 cycle.

Photo Credit: Joseph Sohm / shutterstock.com

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