Maine Senate President Thibodeau (R-Waldo County) DENIES consideration of Rep. Ackley’s RCV bill.

Wow. Michael Thibodeau, Republican senator from Waldo County and president of the Senate, just gave Rep. Kent Ackley and Maine voters a major league shaft. He denied permission to circulate a ballot among the Legislative Council for Ackley’s bill to make ranked choice voting (RCV) constitutional.

Ackley’s RCV bill would pave the way for ranked choice voting -- as approved by 53% of Maine voters last November -- to be used in primary and federal elections, but not for statewide general elections, which the Supreme Court said are constitutionally out of bounds.

Ackley’s bill simply upholds what the voters wanted – outside of statewide general elections.

Just a few days ago, Legislative Council unanimously approved two opposing RCV bills to go to the legislature for discussion and votes.

I have phone calls in to both Senate Democrats and Sen Thibodeau’s office and am awaiting further details.

Editor’s note: This article originally published on Ned White’s blog, “Journeys over a Hot Stove,” part of the BDN Network. It has been modified slightly for publication on IVN and was republished with permission from the author.

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