PORTLAND, Maine: A state supreme court decision Tuesday clears the way for election officials to print ranked choice voting ballots in Maines presidential election, but its still unclear whether the voting system will be used in that contest.
The Supreme Judicial Court concluded that a judges decision that would have prevented the voting system from being used in the presidential contest is on hold during an appeal. That leaves little room for further legal maneuvering ahead of the printing of ballots.
But its still possible the court could ultimately delay ranked voting in the presidential contest once it rules on the merits of an appeal later this month, the Maine Republican Party said.
“We will continue to fight to ensure the voices of Mainers are heard, the GOP said in a statement.
Justices acted swiftly on the procedural decision after hearing arguments last week on whether the Maine Republican Party met the threshold of 63,068 signatures necessary for referendum to give voters the final say on whether to use the voting system in presidential elections.
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat, contended the GOP fell short of the threshold for the ballot. But a state judge had allowed the referendum to proceed after validating enough signatures to surpass the threshold by 22 signatures.
The matter of whether there are enough signatures has yet to be decided and the court could rule later this month, the Maine GOP said. Dunlap didn’t immediately return requests for comment following Tuesday’s ruling.
Maines ranked choice voting system, approved by state voters in 2016, has turned into a fierce partisan issue. Republicans have been adamantly against the voting system while Democrats favor the change.
Supporters say the voting system eliminates the impact of so-called spoiler candidates and produces a majority winner without the need for an additional runoff election. Critics say its unnecessarily complicated. Theyve also argued that it disenfranchises voters.
The GOP blamed the system for the ouster of an incumbent congressman in 2018, even though the incumbent had the most first-place votes.
The ranked choice voting system lets people rank all of the candidates from first to last on their ballots.
A candidate who reaches 50% or more in the first round of voting is declared the winner. If theres no majority, then there are additional tabulations, aided by computers, in which last-place finishers are eliminated and those voters second choices are reallocated to the remaining field.
The system was used for the first time in congressional elections in Maine in 2018, but the Legislature took action to ensure that it would also be used in presidential races, as well.
The 11th-hour drama came as the secretary of state delayed the printing of ballots originally set for an Aug. 28 deadline for the November election. Dunlop has not confirmed a new date by which ballots need to be printed.
The constitutionality of the voting system has been twice upheld by a federal judge in Maine. But its not used the governors race or legislative contests because it runs afoul of the Maine Constitution.
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