Articles by Committee for Ranked Choice Voting

AUGUSTA, ME – Fighting sub-zero temperatures and an almost impossible 88-day timeline, Maine people are turning in more than 80,000 signatures today to keep Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) alive. In November of 2016, RCV was approved by the second largest referendum vote in Maine’s history. But last October, the Legislature voted to kill the new voting system by delaying and repealing the voter-approved law and overturning the results of a democratically held election. Those actions triggered the la...

GORHAM, MAINE -- With less than 24 hours to deploy thousands of petitions and collect signatures for Election Day, more than 400 volunteers from the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) joined together to get well over half the valid signatures required to qualify for the ballot to stop the Legislature’s bill to delay and repeal the new election system. The Committee received the approved petition from Secretary of State Matt Dunlap at 4:30 PM the night before Election Day, making the speed...

AUGUSTA, MAINE -- Four days after the Maine Legislature voted to thwart the will of the voters by delaying and repealing the voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting law, the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV Maine) submitted an application to the secretary of state to launch a People's Veto referendum to restore the election reform. Maine’s Constitution gives the people the right to reverse decisions of the Legislature through the power of the People's Veto. 388,273 Maine citizens voted to t...

AUGUSTA -- Nearly 100 Maine citizens ages 20-81 from across the state descended on Augusta this morning to testify before their elected lawmakers in support of LD 1646. The bill, introduced by Rep. Kent Ackley, would bring Maine’s voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting law into constitutional compliance and implement it for the 2018 primary and federal elections. Only one Maine citizen testified against LD 1646. “Ranked choice voting has been Maine law for nearly a year now; a result of the most ...

Dozens and dozens of Maine citizens from across the state filled the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee room Friday to testify in support of LD 1624, "Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Implement Ranked-choice Voting," and in opposition to LD 1625, "An Act To Repeal the Ranked-choice Voting Law . " In fact, they had to open an overflow room to accommodate all of the Maine citizens who were there to testify in support of defending Maine's Ranked Choice Voting law...

AUGUSTA, MAINE – Last November, Ranked Choice Voting was approved by the second largest referendum vote of the people in Maine’s history. Maine people believe that our system is broken. Ranked Choice Voting is a critical solution to give more voice and more choice to voters in our elections and in our democracy. “The Maine Legislature must honor the will of the people and implement the law,” said Kyle Bailey, Campaign Manager for Yes On 5. “The Maine Legislature can act in response to the Opini...

Opponents push unprecedented procedural move to overrule vote of the people FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUSTA – “Senate President Thibodeau’s procedural request for a solemn occasion on existing Maine law is unprecedented and out of order,” said Kyle Bailey with the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting. “This vote seeks to draw the judicial branch into a political debate that has already been settled by Maine people. It should be rejected.”According to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, “No solemn oc...

Voters in Maine have a historic opportunity to change the way they elect their leaders by voting “Yes on 5” this November. You should never have to vote for the “lesser of two evils” when there is another candidate you like better. We need a system that works – where candidates with the best ideas, not the biggest bank accounts have a fighting chance. Question 5 would empower Maine voters to rank candidates for public office. “Yes on 5” would give Maine voters the freedom to vote for the candi...

A citizen initiative to implement ranked choice voting will be on Maine’s ballot in November 2016. It would apply ranked choice voting to Maine elections for governor, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, state senator, and state representative – including both the party primaries and general elections for these offices. It’s hard to imagine a more well-suited state for this kind of reform, or a better time to advance it than we have in Maine right now. There are at least eight reasons that the t...