Maine Senate asks high court to avert ‘electoral crisis’ over ranked-choice voting

6 years ago

PORTLAND, Maine — An attorney for the Maine Senate urged the state’s high court on Thursday to avert an “electoral crisis” by ruling on legal issues around a ranked-choice voting system that was supposed to be used in the June primaries, but is now in limbo.

But justices were often skeptical of his arguments, noting the political conflict around the first-in-the-nation system passed by Maine voters in 2016 that lingers in Augusta as the Legislature sits less than a week before they’re scheduled to adjourn for the year.

The Republican-led Maine Senate voted earlier this month to authorize legal action against Secretary of State Matt Dunlap. The move was intended to send several questions about ranked-choice voting to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which advised last year that the law is partially unconstitutional.

The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Maine Senate asks high court to avert ‘electoral crisis’ over ranked-choice voting,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writerMichael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.