Maine Senate Votes to Repeal Will of the People

Published: 27 Jun, 2017

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Updated: 17 Oct, 2022

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1 min read

The Maine Senate voted Tuesday to repeal the first-in-the-nation, voter-approved ranked choice voting initiative for state and federal elections. The mostly party-line vote (the Republican majority, plus some Democrats) approved full repeal, 21-13.

The Maine House did not approve a constitutional amendment on a final vote Friday that would bring ranked choice voting in full compliance with the state constitution, despite a huge amount of support for it.

ALSO READ: Independent Maine Rep: Lawmakers Can’t Turn Their Backs on Voters Now

Thousands of Maine voters called, emailed, and talked to state representatives and senators ahead of the legislature's actions asking them to protect ranked choice voting. However, lawmakers in the Senate are leading the effort to overturn the will of the people.

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