A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a statewide committee supporting the use of ranked-choice voting in the June 12 primary election should not be allowed to intervene in a pending lawsuit that seeks to block use of the voter-approved system next month. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy said The Committee for Ranked-Choice Voting’s participation in the lawsuit “would complicate a case that badly needs to be expedited.” Levy said the committee should instead file a friend of the court brief in support of the Secretary of State’s Office by Monday.
Earlier this month, the Maine Republican Party announced it had filed a lawsuit in Bangor seeking to block Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap from deploying the new voting system in the Republican primary.
Dunlap’s office has already printed the June 12 primary ballots and posted extensive voter education materials on the state website, putting Maine on track to become the first state in the nation to use ranked choice in a statewide election.
Full Article: Judge rules ranked-choice voting group can’t intervene in lawsuit to block it – Portland Press Herald.