Whatever the state Supreme Court advises about whether ranked-choice voting violates Maine’s Constitution, the new voting method would apparently still apply to primaries and congressional elections. “The majority of the elections should be governed by this in 2018,” said Kate Knox of Bernstein Shur, representing the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting that pushed last year’s successful ballot question that would make Maine the first state in the country to adopt the system. Knox told legislators recently they “still have a large number of elections” that are required to use ranked-choice voting under last year’s initiative regardless of what the Supreme Court says.
The court is only considering whether ranked-choice voting would violate the state constitution for general elections.
That means that unless the Legislature opts to hit the brakes on the whole initiative approved by voters last year, state primaries next year would kick off the new system.
Full Article: Ranked-choice voting coming to Maine unless Legislature says no | Sun Journal.