New Mexico: City hopes state Supreme Court settles legal questions of ranked-choice voting | Santa Fe New Mexican

Could a ranked-choice election violate the state constitution? City councilors don’t want to risk it. A majority of councilors, while agreeing Monday to support preparations for ranked-choice voting in the March municipal election, said they want city attorneys to pursue a ruling from the state Supreme Court on the voting format. Councilors said a high court decision would resolve lingering questions about ranked-choice voting, including its constitutionality, and avert a potential legal challenge to election results. “Probably the worst thing that could happen is we hold an election and someone comes back after the fact and says, ‘Oh, well, that election is invalid,’ ” said Councilor Peter Ives, one of five candidates for mayor. “Ultimately, it boils down to be a question of the integrity of the election.”

New Mexico: City to pursue dual track on ranked-choice voting | Santa Fe New Mexican

Santa Fe’s mayor and city councilors said Monday they voted unanimously during a closed-door meeting to prepare to use ranked-choice voting in the 2018 municipal election while deciding 5-4 to simultaneously appeal a recent court order forcing the system into place. The dramatic council meeting appeared to at once conclude the legal wrangling over whether the city would use the ranking system in March, while also carving out the possibility that the state’s highest court could reopen the issue before Election Day.

New Mexico: Ruling leaves city to figure out details of ranked-choice voting | Santa Fe New Mexican

Don Perata didn’t like it one bit. The former Bay Area state senator had lost a nail-biter of a mayor’s race in Oakland, Calif., and Perata, who’d outspent his rivals, felt like his victory had been snatched from the jaws of … victory. “If this were a normal election, I would’ve won in a landslide,” Perata said in his concession speech in 2010. Perata’s definition of “normal” was a plurality system. The system is familiar to most voters: It’s the sort of race in which you select one candidate, and the candidate with the most votes wins. The election, however, was Oakland’s first to employ ranked-choice voting. So Perata’s claim — he won the most first-place votes, some 34 percent of the total, 11,000 more than City Councilor Jean Quan — didn’t mean squat.

New Mexico: Santa Fe ordered to implement ranked-choice voting | Albuquerque Journal

Santa Fe is set to become the first city in New Mexico to use ranked-choice voting after a state district court judge ruled that the city can’t postpone implementation of the election system any longer now that appropriate vote-counting software is ready to go. Attorneys for the city said after Wednesday’s court hearing that it would be up to policy makers — the City Council — to decide whether to appeal the decision. Santa Fe voters approved a change to ranked choice voting, also known as “instant runoff,” nine years ago, but it has never been used. A group of Santa Feans sued after the City Council decided in July to delay implementing ranked-choice until 2020 due to concerns that software would not be ready for the 2018 campaign and more time was needed to educate voters about the voting method.

New Mexico: Judge promises ruling Wednesday in ranked-choice voting case | Santa Fe New Mexican

It’s double overtime for the ranked-choice voting case that might turn the city of Santa Fe’s 2018 election on its head. After a daylong hearing Tuesday, state District Court Judge David Thomson said he would rule Wednesday morning on a petition brought by a group of advocates who want to force the city to use the long-delayed ranking mechanism in March, when voters will choose a full-time mayor. The state’s top election officials say the ranked-choice software module is ready. City attorneys, however, say it’s too late to change the rules — and dropped in the curveball argument Tuesday that a ranked-choice election might violate the state constitution.

Maine: 2018 primary could feature ranked choice | WCSH

Maine voters will be faced with a whole lot of candidates next year, and some of those races may be decided using ranked choice voting (RCV). Ranked choice has voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference. Votes are counted and low-ranked candidates are eliminated until one candidate has more than 50 percent. The system was approved by Maine voters in a 2016 referendum. But the Maine Supreme Court justices said they believe the law violates the state constitution, which only requires a plurality of votes for governor and the legislature. The court opinion suggested ranked choice could be used for primary elections and federal races, unless there is a change to the constitution. That hasn’t happened, and lawmakers voted in October to delay the law until 2021. If a constitutional amendment isn’t passed by then, the law would be automatically repealed.

Maine: Advocates seeking to nullify delay of ranked-choice voting | Associated Press

Ranked-choice voting supporters are embarking on a referendum do-over, seeking enough signatures for a vote to nullify a legislative delay and implement the system for the June primary elections. If their efforts are successful, the state would move forward with a dual-election system — ranked-choice voting for primaries and federal races but not for gubernatorial elections or legislative races — to avoid a conflict with the Maine Constitution. The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting said it’s already halfway to a goal of collecting 61,123 signatures from registered voters by Feb. 5 for a “People’s Veto” referendum. If enough votes are certified, then the legislative delay would be stayed.

New Hampshire: Bill seeks to bring ranked-choice voting to New Hampshire | Concord Monitor

As Maine continues a legal struggle over the same issue, New Hampshire legislators will soon be discussing the possibility of reinventing the voting system with ranked-choice ballots. The proposal, House Bill 1540, would allow voters in a race with more than two candidates seeking a single office, such as in party primaries, to rank the candidates in order of preference rather than just choosing the one they want to win. The winner would emerge from a repeated calculation of all voters’ rankings. The prime sponsor of the bill, Ellen Read, D-Newmarket, noted that variations of this voting method are used in some cities around the country, including Cambridge, Mass., as well as in a number of professional organizations and even in a few national elections, notably for the Australian parliament. “It more effectively and accurately reflects the will of the voter,” she said. “It gives more choice.”

Maine: Campaign to restore Maine ranked-choice voting collects over half the signatures needed for a people’s veto | Portland Press Herald

Supporters of ranked-choice voting have collected more than half the signatures needed for a 2018 referendum to overturn a law that delays switching to the voting process for four years. Campaign volunteers got approximately 32,000 signatures outside the polls Tuesday, a day after receiving state approval for the petition, said Kyle Bailey, campaign manager for the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting. The campaign needs 61,123 signatures from registered voters to get a people’s veto on the June 2018 ballot. The campaign has heard back from approximately 70 percent of Election Day petitioners and hundreds of other people have since requested petition packets so they can collect signatures, Bailey said Saturday.

Maine: LePage lets bill that would kill ranked-choice voting in 2021 become law | Bangor Daily News

Gov. Paul LePage says he will allow a bill that delays implementation of ranked-choice voting to become law without his signature. “I encourage the people who want to have a people’s veto to bring it in. The Supreme Court has already said it is unconstitutional, so let the courts decide,” he said. Supporters of ranked-choice voting have vowed to use the people’s veto provision of the Maine Constitution to force a referendum vote on legislation approved by lawmakers last month. Lawmakers delayed implementation until 2021 to give them time to address constitutional problems raised by the Maine Supreme Court. If the law is not amended by the deadline, ranked-choice voting would be repealed.

Maine: Ranked-choice voting supporters prepare for ‘people’s veto’ as delay bill takes effect | Portland Press Herald

A bill delaying Maine’s switch to a ranked-choice voting system will apparently become law without Gov. Paul LePage’s signature. LePage, a vocal opponent of the ranked-choice voting ballot initiative passed by voters last year, told Maine Public on Friday that he will neither sign nor veto the bill that delays adoption of the new system until 2021. Instead, LePage indicated he will allow the bill to take effect without his signature. The governor’s communications office did not respond to a request for comment from the Portland Press Herald on Friday evening. But LePage’s decision to hold onto the bill for the full 10 days allowed under Maine’s Constitution could hamper supporters of ranked-choice voting from gathering signatures on Election Day for a “people’s veto” to implement the process without delay. Even so, LePage seemed to welcome the prospect of a people’s veto campaign.

Maine: Legislature delays and potentially repeals ranked-choice voting | Portland Press Herald

A citizen-backed law that made Maine the first state to adopt a ranked-choice voting system will be delayed and possibly repealed following a series of contentious votes Monday in a special session of the Legislature. The Senate voted 19-10 to delay the law until December 2021 – and then repeal it if a constitutional amendment hasn’t been passed by then to address legal concerns raised by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The House held six procedural votes, then finally agreed with the Senate on a 68-63 tally. The bill now will go to Republican Gov. Paul LePage. LePage will have 10 days to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. The Republican long has argued that ranked-choice is unconstitutional and he is unlikely to veto the delay.

Maine: After Legislature delays ranked-choice voting, push for people’s veto is on | Portland Press Herald

Maine residents could be ranking the candidates for governor and Congress when they vote in the June primaries even though the Legislature passed a bill Monday to delay a ranked-choice voting system. Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Tuesday that supporters of ranked-choice voting could block the bill to delay and repeal the law if they can gather enough signatures within 90 days of the Legislature’s adjournment, expected in early November. That would force another referendum vote – a so-called “people’s veto” – on the matter, likely during the June primary elections that would be the first test of ranked-choice voting. After failed attempts earlier this year to fix the ballot question law, the Legislature passed a bill Monday delaying the shift to ranked-choice voting while adding a poison pill to kill the citizen-backed law in 2021 if the Maine Constitution is not changed.

Maine: Ranked-choice voting law could be delayed until 2021 | Bangor Daily News

The ranked-choice voting law enacted by voters in 2016 is in danger of full repeal following a series of votes Monday in the Legislature, but it has a stay of execution until December 2021. The law, which was deemed partially unconstitutional earlier this year by an advisory opinion of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, has been at the center of controversy in the Legislature for months. Lawmakers adjourned this year’s regular session in August with the House and Senate in disagreement and unable to pass a bill. However, the two chambers agreed in preliminary votes Monday to delay implementation of the law until December 2021, as long as the Legislature can amend the law by then to bring it into constitutional compliance. A failure to do that would lead to a full repeal of the ranked-choice voting law.

Maine: Ranked-choice voting law still needs 16 amendments for proper implementation | The Maine Wire

For those who attended or streamed the public hearing for LD 1646, “An Act to Bring Maine’s Ranked-Choice Voting Law into Constitutional Compliance,” on Monday, Oct. 16, proponents of the bill led you to believe that Maine was ready to implement ranked-choice voting. Dozens of campaign volunteers turned out to testify in favor of ranked-choice voting, however they completely overlooked several facets of the law that still conflict with existing statute and the Maine Constitution. So just how bad is Maine’s ranked-choice voting law?

Maine: Lawmakers take another stab at implementing ranked-choice voting | Portland Press Herald

The Maine Legislature is again wrestling with whether to implement, delay or repeal a law passed by voters last November that made Maine the first state to approve a statewide ranked-choice voting system to elect legislators, the governor and members of Congress. In 2017, the Legislature three times failed to reach consensus on what to do with the law, leaving next year’s primary and general elections in a kind of legal limbo. The law is set to be used for the first time in the June 2018 primaries when Maine’s political parties will select candidates for those races. But last May, the state Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion to the state Senate, saying that if ranked-choice voting were used in the general election for governor or legislators, the results could be challenged in court because the system violates the Maine Constitution. And on Monday, the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, after hours of public testimony, failed to reach consensus on a bill that would implement parts of the law that do not raise constitutional concerns, and delay the rest until voters could be asked to amend the constitution.

Tennessee: Ranked Choice Voting Faces Repeal Effort in Shelby County | Memphis Daily News

Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips uses the planets to walk people through how ranked choice voting works. Even Pluto is included in the nine-way race, although it is no longer considered a planet. She took the example to the Memphis City Council last week, the only elected body affected by the city charter provision that would have voters rank their choices in a single-member district council race by preference. It does away with later runoff elections in races where no candidate gets a simple majority of the votes cast.

Kansas: Ranked choice voting may be coming to Kansas | The Wichita Eagle

The Kansas Legislature is about to consider a radical change in voting. It’s called “ranked-choice voting,” and if it passes, you’ll be asked not just to vote for one candidate when you fill out your ballot, but to rank candidates by your order of preference. And those second and third choices could end up getting counted and even deciding close elections. “This year, you could see major changes (in voting), maybe the biggest in 100 years in this state since women got the right to vote,” said Russell Fox, a professor of political science at Friends University. House and Senate lawmakers will hold a special hearing on ranked-choice voting on Oct. 27. If they like what they hear, they could fast-track a bill for the session, which begins in January.

New Mexico: New petition filed to force ranked-choice voting in Santa Fe | Albuquerque Journal

Efforts to implement ranked choice voting in time for the 2018 municipal election in Santa Fe were renewed Friday when an emergency petition was filed in state District Court. Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected a similar petition. Since that decision, however, the software needed to implement the ranked choice voting method has been certified. “On September 27, 2017, New Mexico’s Voting System Certification Committee unanimously recommended it for certification, and as mandated by the State’s election code for voting systems, it has now been certified and will be used throughout the State in the upcoming 2018 elections,” according to the petition filed by Maria Perez of FairVote New Mexico — a nonpartisan group that advocates for electoral reforms at the local, state, and national level — and others.

Maine: House Speaker Wants To Add Ranked-Choice Voting To Legislature’s Special Session | MPR

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is expected to call the Legislature into special session sometime this fall to take up several unresolved issues. But Maine’s speaker of the house expects that the session will also deal with other matters as well, including ranked-choice voting. House Speaker Sara Gideon says she wants to meet with LePage next week to nail down a time for the special session he plans to call. She says the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee will be asked to shape a proposal to address the constitutional problems with the voter-passed measure establishing ranked-choice voting in the state.

Maine: Legislature poised to take one more shot at fixing ranked-choice voting law | Portland Press Herald

Maine lawmakers will make a final effort in the closing days of the legislative session to act on a citizen-backed ballot law that gives Maine a first-in-the-nation ranked-choice voting system. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kent Ackley, an independent from Monmouth, would allow ranked-choice voting for party primaries and Maine’s congressional seats. But it would set aside the part of the law, which was supported by 51 percent of the voters in November, that calls for ranked-choice voting in general elections for the Legislature and the governor’s office. Under the new law, voters will rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated.

Maine: Ranked choice voting stays alive in Maine for now | Associated Press

Ranked choice voting is unconstitutional, according to Maine’s Supreme Court, yet it’s still the law of the land. Lawmakers were recently unable to agree on modifying or killing the voter-approved law, meaning it stays on the books. It’s the option that several Democratic and Republican lawmakers and officials said no one wants, creating a blueprint for a possible lawsuit against the state. Ranked choice voting is when voters rank the candidates in order of preference instead of voting for a single candidate. Maine is the only state in the nation with such a system.

Maine: Voter-approved ranked-choice voting stays in effect as repeal bills fail | Portland Press Herald

A voter-approved law making Maine the first state in the nation to used ranked-choice voting for statewide elections will stay in effect until at least next year after two legislative efforts to repeal it were unsuccessful Wednesday. The Legislature was attempting to respond to a May advisory opinion from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court that found the parts of the law that applied to races for the governor’s office and Legislature were unconstitutional. A House bill would have left ranked-choice voting in state primary elections and those for Maine’s congressional seats, but not for legislative and gubernatorial races unless the Legislature approved a constitutional amendment to allow ranked-choice voting and state voters ratified it. The Senate version, which had Republican and Democratic support, would have repealed the ballot law completely.

Maine: Ranked-choice voting supporters consider people’s veto if legislature scraps law | Bangor Daily News

Supporters of Maine’s first-in-the-nation ranked-choice voting law say they could launch a people’s veto effort to keep the initiative alive. While approved by voters last fall, the law ran into constitutional problems, and could be scuttled by the Legislature. The threat of a people’s veto adds another layer of complexity to a political stalemate. The ranked-choice voting law ran into a legal problem. After it was approved, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion finding that the law was unconstitutional for use in general elections for governor or the Legislature.

Editorials: Let’s change how we elect the House of Representatives | Don Beyer/The Washington Post

Democracy is in crisis. Even as the country is deeply divided along class and ideological lines, it seems to be unified in its frustration with our current brand of politics. Polls show that less than 20 percent of the country approves of the way Congress is doing its job. The time has come to consider a transformative idea that reflects the American electorate’s desire for moderation and fairness and that encourages the reemergence of bridge builders and candidates with an eye for compromise. That idea involves changing the way we elect members of the House of Representatives. This week I introduced the Fair Representation Act, which would make two fundamental changes in how voters elect their representative in the U.S. House.

Maine: Lawmakers divided over ranked-choice voting | Portland Press Herald

The Maine House and Senate passed conflicting versions of ranked-choice voting legislation Tuesday, making the future of the first-in-the-nation, voter-approved measure uncertain. The Senate voted Tuesday morning to repeal the ranked-choice voting law. The 21-13 vote came after the state’s highest court gave an advisory opinion that electing members of the Legislature and the governor by ranked choice did not comply with the Maine Constitution, which calls for the winners of those elections to be selected by a plurality of voters. But just moments after the Senate action, and with no debate, the House of Representatives voted 79-66 to leave parts of the law intact for primary voting and congressional elections. The House bill also leaves open the door to ranked-choice voting for governor and the Legislature if a constitutional amendment is passed in the future.

Maine: Constitutional amendment to fix ranked-choice voting falters in Maine House | Portland Press Herald

A potential fix to the constitutional concerns raised about Maine’s new ranked-choice voting system faltered in the Maine House on Friday. The 78-68 House vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to present voters with a proposed constitutional amendment on a ranked-choice voting process that fundamentally changes the way Maine voters elect legislators, governors and members of Congress. Lawmakers voted largely along party lines, with Democrats supporting sending the constitutional amendment to voters and Republicans opposing the measure. Although 52 percent of Mainers voted to approve switching to a ranked-choice system last November – making Maine the first state to do so – the Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous advisory opinion last month that said the process would violate Maine’s Constitution. That has left lawmakers with two major options: either repeal the ranked-choice voting law approved by voters, or give voters a chance to change Maine’s Constitution to address the court’s concerns.

Maine: Senate sets aside legislation to repeal ranked-choice voting law | Portland Press Herald

The Maine Senate tabled a bill Wednesday that would have repealed a citizens initiative passed in November that made Maine the first state in the nation to adopt a statewide ranked-choice voting system. Senators then voted unanimously, without a roll call tally, to give initial approval to a bill that would amend the Maine Constitution – if approved by two-thirds of the Legislature and by voters – to resolve issues with the new law identified by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Its advisory opinion in May found that parts of the new law violated the state constitution, which calls for candidates in races for the Legislature and the governor’s office to be elected by a plurality of voters – the most votes – and not necessarily a majority of voters – at least 50 percent – as they would be under a ranked-choice system. But the opinion did not address ranked-choice voting in Maine’s federal elections or party primary elections, and supporters have argued the law should stand for those races while the Legislature and then voters decide if the constitution should be amended.

Maine: State Senate Gives Initial Approval to Ranked-choice Legislation | WABI

The Maine Senate on Wednesday gave initial approval to legislation sponsored by Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, to amend Maine’s constitution to allow for the implementation of Ranked-Choice Voting in 10 state and federal elections and primaries. Voters approved the implementation of ranked-choice voting, also known as “instant runoff voting,” at the ballot box last year. Ranked-Choice Voting allows voters to cast their vote for multiple candidates, ranked in order of preference. A series of runoffs occur, redistributing ballots according to the voter’s rankings, until one candidate has a majority of votes.

Maine: All Voter-Approved Initiatives From 2016 Ballot In Flux In Legislature | Maine PublicRadio

Maine lawmakers are overhauling or set to repeal each of the four citizen-initiated laws that passed in November. Those actions have left some wondering if the voice of the voters is as sacrosanct as it once was. It also reveals the tension between activists and voters frustrated with the pace of change and elected officials who believe the citizen initiative has undercut their role as lawmakers. “The effort to repeal ranked choice voting is a slap in your face from politicians who think they know better than you. It’s time to tell the politicians in Augusta that we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!” says Kyle Bailey to his fellow ranked-choice voting supporters at a rally in front of the State House last month.