Letter to the editor: Ranked-choice voting is the smart way to conduct Maine elections

Ranked-choice voting is crucial to democracy. The League of Women Voters of Maine studied all voting methods and determined that to ensure a candidate is elected with at least 50 percent plus one vote, ranked-choice voting is the way to go. It is applied in races of more than two candidates. It means two candidates with similar platforms no longer split the vote, and it does not allow less popular candidates to win. In nine of Maine’s past 11 gubernatorial elections, affecting both Democrats and Republicans, candidates won with less than 50 percent of the total votes.

Ranked-choice voting means all candidates compete for your vote because you might vote for them first, second and so on. It cuts down on negative campaigning because you might like more than one candidate, so candidates focus on issues instead.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, ranked-choice voting is cheaper and quicker than a second round of voting because you have already voted for your second, third, etc., choices. Other choices are counted immediately after the first round.

Lots of people vote for the candidate they think is more likely to win rather than the person they really support. With ranked-choice voting, you can vote for your top choice and still vote for the candidate you think might win, so you get to vote your conscience.

Every registered voter can vote on Question 1, which reads as follows:

“Question 1: Do you want to reject the parts of a new law that would delay the use of ranked-choice voting in the election of candidates for any state or federal office until 2022, and then, retain the method only if the constitution is amended by Dec. 1, 2021, to allow ranked-choice voting for candidates in state elections?”

Vote “yes” for ranked-choice voting June 12, or go to your town or city hall early and vote there.

Ginny Schneider

Portland