One candidate for governor of Maine was recently in the peculiar position of having to ask another about the role Ranked Choice Voting [RCV] will play in next year’s election for the state’s chief executive.
It was peculiar for two reasons: first, the person charged with administering Maine’s elections, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, is herself a candidate for the Democrat nomination. And second, the person asking – fellow gubernatorial candidate and state senator Jim Libby (R-Cumberland) – is, like most of his fellow Republicans, staunchly opposed the RCV system.
Will the 2026 gubernatorial election be impacted by ranked choice voting? The answer is two-fold.
As far as the June primaries are concerned — yes. As has been the case for the past several years, Mainers will be presented with a ranked choice ballot when they go to the polls next June to participate in their party’s primary. That means Republicans, who broadly disfavor RCV, will continue to be forced to use it anyway in choosing their nominee.
RCV was first used for both Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries in 2018 and again in 2022.
Where November’s general election is concerned, however, there is less certainty. Under current law, ranked choice voting does not apply to state-level elections — including for the governorship — as the method has previously been considered incompatible with the state’s constitution.
A bill that is set to be taken up by legislators next year, however, seeks to change this. If successful, ranked choice voting may be used for the upcoming gubernatorial election. Should this measure be rejected by lawmakers, vetoed by the governor, or enjoined in court, Mainers will not see a change to their general election ballots.
Currently, ranked choice voting is used in all of Maine’s primary elections, as well as in general elections for federal offices, including for seats in the U.S. Congress and for President.
[RELATED: Lawmakers Approve Bill Expanding Ranked Choice Voting to All Maine State Elections]
This past legislative session, lawmakers considered a bill that aimed to expand the use of ranked choice voting to state elections, including for the governorship. Also impacted by the potential expansion would be races for the State House and Senate.
Ranked choice voting has, until now, been used to ensure that the winner of a given election secures a majority, but Sen. Cameron Reny’s (D-Lincoln) bill, LD 1666, aimed to change this threshold, allowing the practice to include state offices.
The Maine Supreme Court explained in a 2017 advisory opinion that requiring candidates for state offices to earn majority support would violate the Maine Constitution, which states the candidate winning the most votes, or a plurality, prevails, meaning that a majority — or more than 50 percent — cannot be required to win.
[RELATED: Ranked Choice Voting — A Brief History for Maine and the Nation]
In light of this, LD 1666 would adapt the language of ranked choice voting laws so that the methodology would be permissible within these constitutional constraints, although it does not seem to actually change anything about the ranked choice voting system itself.
Bill sponsor Sen. Reny explained the intent behind introducing these seemingly minor linguistic changes to state law, arguing that a first choice ranking is not equivalent to a vote.
The Maine Supreme Court’s 2017 advisory opinion explained that the multi-round nature of ranked choice voting is inherently contradictory to the State Constitution’s requirement that certain offices be elected by a plurality.
“The Act is not simply another method of carrying out the Constitution’s requirement of a plurality,” wrote the Court. “In essence, the Act is inapplicable if there are only two candidates, and it is in direct conflict with the Constitution if there are more than two candidates.”
Despite prevailing in both the House and Senate, LD 1666 was withdrawn from the governor’s desk at the last minute before lawmakers adjourned for the session. As a result of this, the bill was carried over until next session when lawmakers reconvene early next year.
[RELATED: Ranked Choice Voting Expansion Recalled from the Governor’s Desk at the Eleventh Hour]
The decision to recall this bill from the governor’s desk came after Maine Policy Institute, a state-based think tank, published an open letter urging Gov. Janet Mills (D) to stand by her prior position and reject the ranked choice voting expansion.
In 2017, Gov. Mills — who was then serving as Maine’s Attorney General — argued that ranked choice voting cannot be reconciled with the requirements outlined in Maine’s constitution.
“The Constitution must be amended before such fundamental changes in Maine’s electoral process can occur,” then-Attorney General Mills said in a brief to the Maine Supreme Court.
“By its plain language, as well as by necessary implication, the Constitution directs that there be one round of counting votes and that it be conducted by local officials,” she said.
“The proponents’ attempts to characterize [ranked choice voting] as just a new way of tabulating votes, or as another form of plurality voting, ignore essential differences between the two systems,” said Mills in a subsequent reply brief.
“[Ranked choice voting] is not consistent with the plurality voting system adopted in Maine’s Constitution,” Mills explained.
“In requiring a new method of casting and counting votes, and determining winners, the [ranked choice voting law] goes beyond specifying procedural details,” wrote Mills. “It enacts a different voting procedure than the one prescribed in the Maine Constitution and used for the past 150 years.”
Earlier this month, gubernatorial candidate and state senator Jim Libby reached out to Secretary of State and fellow gubernatorial candidate Bellows for clarification on how ranked choice voting would be implemented for the upcoming elections, particularly in light of LD 1666.
On Monday, Bellows issued a response, explaining that ranked choice voting will continue to be used for the gubernatorial primary this year, as has been done previously.
“A bill that has not passed does not have the power to change existing law, so the existence of LD 1666 as a bill has no bearing on the conduct of the June primary,” Bellows wrote. “In addition, LD 1666 addresses state-level general elections, not primaries.”
“I hope this provides the clarity you are seeking that the June primary will be a ranked choice voting primary, and that is information clearly publicly available for all who seek to avail themselves of it,” she added.
In the press release shared by Libby regarding Bellows’ response, he suggested that Bellows “says that we will be using [ranked choice voting] over the objections of Mainers who are concerned about the confusion that [ranked choice voting] causes in the ballot box.”
“Democrats abused their power, jammed through legislation affecting Republican primaries and dozens of other issues, and then said oops, I guess we will have to carry this bills over,” he wrote.
“I have spoken to many in the Republican party,” he added. “They are angry about this Democrat intrusion into the affairs of the Republican party.”
“We all know that some citizens vote for the same candidate for all ranking options, while other voters rank the candidates,” he wrote. “It is confusing to many who just want to vote for a candidate and not formulate a strategy before entering the ballot box. Given the confusion and the cost, time and effort required to tabulate [ranked choice voting], it should not be used for statewide positions.”
Although nothing will change this year with respect to how Maine’s state-level primaries — including for the governorship — are run, it remains to be seen whether or not ranked choice voting will implemented for the general election in November.
Because lawmakers chose to recall LD 1666 from the governor’s desk after voting to approve it, the bill will be back on the table for their consideration when they reconvene early next year.
Should lawmakers move to again send Mills this legislation without amending it, ranked choice voting could potentially be in effect by the time of the November general election if the governor signs it into law.
Because non-emergency legislation goes into effect 90 days after lawmakers adjourn for the session, LD 1666 could be in effect for the gubernatorial general election assuming that the Legislature adjourns before August, as is usually the case.
Mills could also opt to veto LD 1666, in which case it would only go into law if it were overridden by a supermajority of lawmakers, an unlikely scenario given the current composition of the Legislature.
[RELATED: Dems Look to Use Ranked Choice Voting in State Elections, But Constitutional Questions Remain]
Given the Maine Supreme Court’s statements concerning the use of ranked choice voting in state-level general elections, as well as those of the governor herself, it is also possible that LD 1666 could face legal challenges if it is ultimately signed into law.
If the provision were to be challenged in court, it is possible that a temporary injunction could be issued, thereby halting the enforcement of the proposed changes for an indeterminate amount of time as the case is pending.
In short, Mainers can fully expect to see ranked choice ballots when they go to the polls this June to vote in their party’s gubernatorial primary — as has been the case for the past several years — but things are less certain at this point when it comes to November’s general election.
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