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Maine Is Trying Out A New Way To Run Elections. But Will It Survive The Night?
The man who lives in the Blaine House in Augusta, Maine, was, for many, a sneak preview of the 45th president of the United States. Like Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Paul LePage has transformed the face of government with his politically incorrect brand of conservatism — and he did it despite winning less than a majority of votes. LePage won a seven-way Republican primary for governor in 2010 with 37 percent of the vote, and he beat a Democrat and three independents in the general with just 38 percent.
Eight years later, it's far from clear that LePage would have a path to victory if he were running now in the Republican primary for governor. That's because, partly in response to LePage's plurality wins, Maine on Tuesday will become the first state to use ranked-choice voting to decide a statewide election. So not only are there races in Maine we'll be watching, but the process matters too. And if Maine voters don't pass an initiative reauthorizing the voting method at the same time, this real-life political-science experiment will be cut short.
The question of keeping ranked-choice in place for future primaries and Congressional races in the general election led 54-46 percent with 57% of precincts reporting at 12:05 AM EDT.
Maine's Governor Paul LePage has threatened to not certify the results, but that doesn't matter according to Maine's Secretary of State:
Gov. LePage on Tuesday says he "probably" won't certify results from the voter-approved ranked-choice voting system.
Maine law requires the secretary of state to tabulate results and get them to the governor within 20 days of an election. The governor "shall" certify them within a reasonable time period, but Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, a Democrat, said this only applies to state general elections and not primaries. "He can bluster all he wants, but he can't change the results," Dunlap said.
Also at WGME, Vox, NYT (live results), and Portland Press Herald.
Previously: Maine Supreme Court Approves Ranked-Choice Voting for 2018 Elections
(Score: 5, Informative) by martyb on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:29PM (8 children)
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that you are in favor of Ranked Choice Voting. Okay? How would you vote — "Yes" or "No"?
Here is the actual text of the Ballot Question [ballotpedia.org]:
Have you decided how you would vote?
Was it "Yes" or "No"?
Good. Let's see how you did:
How did you do? Would your vote have expressed your intention?
I'll leave it to the reader to determine if this ballot question was intended to secure "the will of the people".
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:32PM (6 children)
What is wrong with
"Should Maine have ranked voting system for electing congresscritters?"
Yes No
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday June 13 2018, @06:52PM (5 children)
People might vote $wrong.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Wednesday June 13 2018, @07:04PM (4 children)
Ireland has a solution to this: just keep asking the population to vote, until they vote $right (this concerned adopting an EU treaty which involved closer integration).
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday June 13 2018, @07:46PM (3 children)
Ireland had a vote
The population said no
The government said "why, what's the problem"
The population said "this, this and this"
The government said "OK, here we've fixed this, this and this, what do you think now"
The population said "Yes, that's fine"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 14 2018, @01:22AM (2 children)
And then no more voting ever after.
(Score: 2) by dry on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:04AM
No, they just have to vote in a national government that wants another vote. Sorta like the UK did, though they never had the first vote I believe.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Thursday June 14 2018, @12:16PM
The population of Ireland get the chance to elect a government every 5 years (or less). They most recently voted in 2016, the next one will be 2021 at the latest. They are free to vote in a party that would have a referendum on leaving the EU, or even just vote a party that would leave the EU.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday June 14 2018, @05:17AM
My brain hurts. Was this question designed by a lawyer, or a programmer??
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.