Unconstitutional bill to expand RCV passes Maine Legislature

Both chambers of the Maine State Legislature recently passed LD 1666, a bill that would expand the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) to statewide elections. Currently, RCV is used only in federal elections because it conflicts with the state constitution. And even with its limited use, federal elections in the state have been marred by delays, confusion, and ballot exhaustion.

To appear constitutional, the bill relies on word games by redefining what a "vote" is, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion in 2017 clearly stating that the system violates the Maine Constitution in certain elections. Still, in a desperate attempt to save this unconstitutional piece of legislation, the Legislature recently passed an order requesting the state Supreme Court to give its opinion on it.

This bill is a carryover from the previous session; it passed both chambers previously but was withdrawn to avoid a veto by Governor Mills. When she served as Attorney General, she submitted a brief to the Court stating:

"The Constitution must be amended before such fundamental changes in Maine’s electoral process can occur."

If the Legislature wants to expand RCV and create more election chaos for the state, then it should do the hard work of amending the Constitution, not pushing clearly unconstitutional legislation. Hopefully the Governor vetoes this bill, and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issues another advisory ruling making clear the unconstitutionality of expanding RCV.