On Monday, Maine's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted 3-7 against restoring batch elimination to the ranked choice voting (RCV) system through LD 656 (HP 424), the title of which claims it will save taxpayers money, but the secretary of state says is unnecessary.
When voters first approved RCV in 2016, batch elimination allowed multiple candidates with minimal vote totals to be simultaneously removed from consideration. However, logistical and practical concerns ahead of the 2024 elections ended the practice.
During the 130th Legislature (2021-2022), batch elimination was restricted specifically for presidential primaries whenever a candidate received more than 100 votes, but it remained permissible in other elections.
This, according to Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn, meant that the state needed to maintain two separate counting algorithms, which she noted made the process overly complex. She previously stated:
"The software already generates results in approximately one minute regardless of whether batch elimination is used or not."
With the completion of the 2024 elections, Representative David Boyer (R-Poland), LD 656's sponsor, argued for the reconsideration of batch elimination, stating that it "simplifies the tabulation process." He added:
“It does not affect how voters cast their ballots or how candidates run their campaigns. Instead, it offers a clearer and quicker method for counting ballots.”
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows strongly opposes Boyer's bill. In her testimony, she emphasized that "batch elimination neither saves time nor reduces costs for the state, and round-by-round elimination offers greater clarity about voter preferences."
"Continuously changing the methods undermines predictability and stability for voters, candidates, election administrators, and the press, creating issues rather than solving them. I urge the committee to vote 'ought not to pass' on LD 656.”
Following this vote, Maine will maintain the round-by-round counting method.