WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the invitation of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a brief opposing the expansion of Maine’s ranked-choice voting system.
“Maine’s highest court and the State’s Democrat Governor Janet Mills both previously said that expanding ranked-choice voting would violate the State’s constitution, yet Democrats in the state legislature are still trying to force this through,” said Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters. “The RNC is partnering with the Maine Republican Party to defend Maine voters from this attempt to change the State’s election laws right before this year’s elections.”
Background:
Today, the RNC filed a brief with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court opposing an attempt by Democrats in the Maine legislature to expand ranked-choice voting.
Last month, the Maine Legislature asked the Court to decide if LD 1666 – a bill to expand the state’s ranked-choice voting system to general elections for state offices – is allowed under the Maine Constitution.
Currently ranked-choice voting is only used for the state’s primary elections and general elections for federal offices (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives).
Ranked-choice voting can change vote totals after ballots are cast and discard votes before the final count. [Note: This expiration violates the plurality requirement in the State’s constitution.]
In 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that ranked-choice voting in general elections for state offices violated the State’s constitution.
Democrat Governor Janet Mills – who was then Maine’s Attorney General – argued in 2017 that ranked-choice voting in these elections would be unconstitutional.
The RNC has previously fought to protect Maine voters and secure the State’s elections by holding Secretary of State Shenna Bellows accountable for failing to maintain accurate voter rolls and by taking action to prevent non-citizens from voting in state elections.
In 2023, the RNC unanimously adopted a resolution opposing ranked-choice voting across the country.
Stay up to date with the RNC’s election integrity efforts here.
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Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments at hegop@nvc.net or heidi@sdgop.com.
Heidi Engelhart, South Dakota Republican National Committeewoman
www.voiceoftheplainssd.substack.com