Maine Supreme Judicial Court rules ranked-choice voting unconstitutional

[jpak]

Source: Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s high court said Tuesday that the state’s first-in-the-nation ranked-choice voting system is unconstitutional, throwing the voter-approved law into jeopardy ahead of the 2018 campaign where it was supposed to be implemented.

In a unanimous, 44-page opinion issued Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s seven justices agreed with Attorney General Janet Mills, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap and Republican legislators that the system violates a provision of the Maine Constitution that allows elections to be won by pluralities — and not necessarily majorities — of votes.

<not much moew>

Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/05/23/politics/maine-supreme-judicial-court-rules-ranked-choice-voting-unconstitutional/

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This was a citizen ballot initiative - opposed by the GOP.

[FBaggins]

1. That's a shame... but almost certainly correct.

The correct course would have been to amend the state constitution

[Tafiti]

3. Yep.

If it's not allowed by the constitution the court can't just ignore it. I'm surprised whoever was behind this initiative didn't have a constitutional analysis done before going the ballot initiative route.

That said, I don't know Maine's procedure to amend its constitution, but if only the legislature can do it and that seemed impossible, going this route could've also been a way to bring attention to the issue and potentially put pressure on the legislature to amend the constitution in order to realize the will of the people since they voted for it.

[librechik]

2. man, that sucks. Never Give UP!

a good idea will never die.