Background
Democrats in the Legislature are trying to ram through an unconstitutional bill to expand ranked-choice voting to state-level general elections.
This comes after the Maine Supreme Court decided years ago that ranked-choice voting violates the Maine Constitution’s requirement that the winner of these races be determined by a “plurality” of the votes. That's how we ended up using ranked-choice voting for some elections but not others.
How are they side-stepping the Maine Supreme Court’s ruling? By simply redefining what “plurality” means in Maine law.
You can’t make this stuff up!
The legislative majority is so afraid of losing power next year that they’re trying to pull a fast one on Maine’s highest court. We can’t let them succeed.
Take action today and visit the Maine Policy Institute website here to urge your elected representatives to oppose LD 1666.
If this bill passes and becomes law, next year’s elections will be mired in lawsuits. Mainers won’t know for weeks or months who is representing them in Augusta or the Blaine House.
Thank you for your continued support and advocacy throughout this legislative session. Please share this email with anyone you know who may take action as well, and encourage them to sign up for future emails from Maine Policy by visiting mainepolicy.org.
[Source: Maine Policy Institute Email.]
Action Time-Window
⚠️ Please consider taking action as soon as possible!
Template
The below is from the Maine Policy Institute's website and was shared by a community member.
For ease of access, you can directly send the below testimony via the speak4.app website here.
Alternatively, you can submit your own testimony using the following link: https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/.
Subject: Oppose LD 1666!
Dear [Lawmaker] ,
I urge you to oppose LD 1666 this session. Maine's Supreme Court made clear that the application of ranked-choice voting to state-level general election races violates the "plurality" clause of the Maine Constitution. Lawmakers can't simply redefine what plurality means to skirt this requirement. The candidate with the most votes after the first round of voting and counting must be declared the winner.
The Alaska Supreme Court, which reached a different conclusion with more ambiguous plurality language in its state's constitution, has no jurisdiction in Maine. Alaska Supreme Court rulings do not have any legal validity in Maine, nor does this court's ruling undermine or conflict with the Maine Supreme Court's previous ruling on the unconstitutionality of RCV as it applies to state-level general elections.
The passage of LD 1666 guarantees that next year's elections will result in countless lawsuits. Mainers will have to wait weeks or months to find out who is representing them in Augusta and the Blaine House. Please stop this madness before you throw our election system into further chaos.
Credit for sharing the above goes to our community member Danny (@DannyEmerson61) from the South Berwick Republican Committee (@BerwickSouth).
Disclaimer
A community member has shared this personal template for those who wish to express their views on the bill(s) mentioned above. This template is not an official PTP position, and using it is entirely up to you. Pine Tree Patriots encourages civic participation but does not endorse or support specific actions or policies. Please remember this is an individual initiative.
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