Maine GOP veto effort fails, Sec. of State says ranked choice voting will be used in presidential el
Source: WCSH-TV/News Center Maine
The people’s veto effort sought to repeal parts of the law which expands the ranked-choice method of voting to the presidential primary and general election in Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine — A petition drive to stop an expansion of ranked-choice in Maine to presidential primaries and general elections has failed. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap confirmed Wednesday that certification of the people’s veto of “An Act To Implement Ranked-choice Voting for Presidential Primary and General Elections in Maine" does not have enough valid signatures to move forward to a vote.
The Maine Republican Party (Maine GOP) submitted the petition signatures on June 15 to be reviewed. They collected more than 72,000 signatures statewide. But the Secretary of State’s Office said Wednesday that more than 11,000 of the 72,000 signatures turned in were invalid and therefore failed to gather the 63,000 signatures needed to get on the November ballot.
Dunlap deemed more than 3,500 signatures invalid because they weren't certified by the registrar as belonging to a registered voter in that municipality, and another roughly 2,600 because they were duplicate signatures that were already counted.
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Author: Gabrielle Mannino (NEWS CENTER Maine)
Published: 6:27 PM EDT July 15, 2020
Updated: 6:33 PM EDT July 15, 2020
Read more: https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/elections/maine-gop-veto-effort-fails-sec-of-state-says-ranked-choice-voting-will-be-used-in-presidential-election/97-052ee1de-7d0d-4e20-9656-3a40ee37ac50
Full headline: Maine GOP veto effort fails, Sec. of State says ranked choice voting will be used in presidential election
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Source: Associated Press
Mainers can use ranked voting for president, state rules
2 hours ago
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine voters are poised to become the first group of voters in U.S. history to be able to use a ranked style of voting for president, following a ruling by the secretary of state Wednesday.
Maine voters approved a switch to ranked choice voting with a statewide vote in 2016. A state law change later extended the voting system to presidential elections in Maine.
The Maine GOP gathered signatures to try to force a people’s veto vote on the law change. That would have kept ranked choice voting off presidential ballots in the state this year, because voters would have had to decide then whether to retain the voting method.
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said that the Republicans’ effort doesn’t have enough valid signatures to force that vote. Republicans submitted 72,512 signatures, but only 61,334 were valid — more than 1,600 short of the threshold, he said.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/02eaaa35b5285f208baef64722d4bfb9
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