Maine has become the first state in the nation to change the way voters elect candidates to Congress, the Legislature and the governor’s office. With 93 percent of ballots counted, Question 5, which could make Maine the first state to pick statewide candidates with a ranking system, was leading with 52 percent to 48 percent support, a margin of nearly 29,000 votes. In ranked-choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate has more than 50 percent of the top votes cast after the first tally, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose the eliminated candidate have their ballots added to the totals of their second-ranked candidate and the ballots are retabulated. The process continues until one candidate has a majority of votes and is declared the winner. Critics of the change, including Gov. Paul LePage, said it violates the Maine Constitution, which calls for election winners to be chosen by a plurality of the vote.
Supporters said the measure gives voters more power and the ability to vote for the candidate they like best instead of casting “a lesser of two evils” vote, as many voters said they felt they were doing in this year’s presidential race.
Roger Poulin, 52, of Lewiston said he voted against the measure Tuesday largely because it was too complicated. Poulin said he also believes that counting ballots for ranked candidates would take too long and cost too much.
“I mean you count them, you recount them and count them again until you end up with a majority winner?” Poulin asked. “It’s too confusing, too complicated. You vote, you vote.”
Full Article: Approval looks likely for initiative to change how Maine candidates are elected – The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.