# June 2018 Maine Question 1

Elections in Maine :
Federal offices
U.S. President
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
Dem
1988
1992
1996
2000
Dem
2004
Dem
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate
1820
1821
1823
1823
1827
1829 sp
1835
1835 sp
1837 sp
1839
1840
1843 sp
1846
1848 sp
1851
1854 sp
1857
1857 sp
1859
1861 sp
1863
1865 sp
1869
1870 sp
1875
1877
1877 sp
1880
1881
1881 sp
1883
1887
1889
1893
1895
1899
1901
1905
1907
1911
1912 sp
1913
1916
1916 sp
1918
1922
1924
1926 sp
1928
1930
1934
1936
1940
1942
1946
1948
1952
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2012
2014
2018
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House of Representatives
1820–1821
1822 sp 2nd
1823
1824–1825
1826–1827
1826 sp 5th
1827 sp 1st
1828–1830
1830
1833
1834
1836
1838
1840
1843
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1860 sp 5th
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1881 sp 2nd
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1897 sp 3rd
1898
1899 sp 1st
1899 sp 2nd
1900
1901 sp 4th
1902
1904
1906
1908
1908 sp 2nd
1908 sp 4th
1910
1912
1913 sp 3rd
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1940 sp 2nd
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1951 sp 3rd
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026 :
State government
Gubernatorial elections
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
State Senate elections
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
State House elections
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
People's vetoes
2009Question 1
2011Question 1
2018Question 1 (Jun)
2020Question 1
Citizen initiated referendums
2012Question 1
2014Question 1
2015Question 1
2016
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
2017
Question 1
Question 2
2018
Question 1 (Nov)
2021
Question 1
2023
Question 1
Constitutional amendments
2021
Question 3
Legislatively referred referendums
2024
Question 5 :
City of Portland
Mayoral elections
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
vte :
Maine Question 1 was a people's veto referendum that appeared on the June 12, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to reject a law passed by the Maine Legislature that suspended the implementation of ranked-choice voting, authorized by Maine voters in a previous referendum, for use in Maine elections until and if an amendment to the Maine Constitution is passed to expressly permit it; failing that, the law would be automatically repealed in 2021. It qualified because supporters of the original referendum collected the necessary number of signatures from registered Maine voters. This vote coincided with primary elections in which party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and the Maine Legislature were chosen through RCV to run in general elections on November 6.
The people's veto was passed, with 53.88% of Maine voters voting Yes. This restored ranked choice voting for primary and federal elections.

## Background

On November 8, 2016, Maine voters passed Question 5, a citizen referendum to implement ranked-choice voting (RCV). Supporters expected RCV to be in place for 2018's elections, but on May 23, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion at the request of the Maine Senate stating that RCV in general elections for state offices would be held unconstitutional if it came before the court. The opinion did not affect elections for federal offices or primary elections for state offices. RCV opponents subsequently called for the law establishing RCV to be repealed, while supporters called for a vote on a constitutional amendment to permit the law. On October 23, 2017, the legislature voted to delay implementation of the RCV law for all races until 2021. If a constitutional amendment was not passed by that point, the law would be repealed.
Unhappy with the delay, RCV supporters launched a people's veto signature-gathering effort to prevent it, pointing to RCV's successful use in mixed-race ballots in Portland. On November 6, 2017, the petition forms were approved after Governor Paul LePage waited the full 10 days he is permitted by law to allow the delay to take effect without his signature. On November 12, the effort's leaders said they had collected half the signatures needed and set a goal of finishing by December 15, though by law they had 90 days from when they started.
On February 2, 2018, RCV Maine turned in over 80,000 signatures to Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap for verification. The signatures were gathered despite the coldest weather in years occurring during the gathering period. This suspended the Legislature's delay of RCV pending the outcome of the vote, meaning it would be used in the June primary elections. Dunlap said his office was exploring strategies for implementation of RCV but that it was challenging since the legislature had not given him additional resources.
On March 5, Dunlap announced that approximately 66,000 signatures had been verified, more than the 61,000 needed to place a question on the ballot.
The question that appeared on the ballot was "Do you want to reject the parts of a new law that would delay the use of ranked-choice voting in the election of candidates for any state or federal office until 2022, and then retain the method only if the constitution is amended by December 1, 2021, to allow ranked-choice voting for candidates in state elections?"

### RCV status

A people's veto effort suspends the law under dispute until the result of the vote is determined. Supporters asserted this means that the law voters passed in 2016 establishing RCV should be implemented in a manner consistent with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling. On March 29, 2018, Dunlap told a Maine Legislature committee hearing that in this case that means the original law is in effect, requiring the original first-past-the-post system for the upcoming primaries, unless the legislature passes an emergency change to the law or a court tells him otherwise. Dunlap said he needed clarity on the issue by April 2 so overseas ballots could be printed and sent as federal law requires. Passage of a new law seemed unlikely, as it would need a 2/3 vote to pass the legislature as an emergency measure. Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills urged the legislature to pass a new law, saying that the signers of the people's veto petition should not be thwarted by a technicality. RCV supporters said they would seek a court injunction to order the use of RCV. On April 4, Judge Michaela Murphy ruled that Dunlap should proceed with efforts to implement RCV for the June primaries while the issues with the law are heard by the courts.
In a separate case, the Maine Senate voted 21-13 to direct Senate President Michael Thibodeau to seek intervenor status with the court in the RCV case. Majority Senate Republicans claim that Thibodeau would have standing to intervene as the Senate has a duty to defend the Maine Constitution. They additionally argued that the legislature has not approved funding specifically for RCV, and that chaos could result if losing candidates in elections began to file lawsuits over the use of RCV. Democrats rejected those arguments, stating that Republicans were cherry-picking parts of the Constitution and ignoring the parts that permit citizens to pass laws at the ballot box, and pointed out that Dunlap has the authority and funding to hold elections in general. They added that the Senate is only part of the legislative branch and that more would be needed for standing.
On April 18, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court removed the last legal roadblocks to using RCV in primary elections, upholding the lower court ruling. It also declined to hear Thibodeau's appeal, saying it would not hear a political dispute from one half of one body of the legislature.
On May 4, the Maine Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Bangor seeking to bar the use of RCV in its own primary, on the grounds that the party has a First Amendment right to choose its nominee as it sees fit. U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy rejected the suit on May 29.

### Endorsements
#### Supporters

* Norman Higgins, state representative (I-Dover-Foxcroft)
* Angus King, U.S. Senator
* Jennifer Lawrence, actress
* Peter Mills, Executive Director of the Maine Turnpike Authority, former Republican State Senator and brother of Maine Attorney General Janet Mills
* Jill Stein, Green Party nominee for President of the United States in 2012 and 2016
* MaineToday Media newspapers; Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel
* The New York Times

#### Opponents

* Bangor Daily News
* Ron Collins, state senator (R-York)
* Paul LePage, Governor of Maine
* Maine Republican Party

## Results

The Bangor Daily News called the vote for the Yes side just after midnight on election night. RCV was subsequently implemented for the November general elections for Maine's two congressional districts.
Breakdown of voting by county :
| County | Yes | Votes | No | Votes |
| Androscoggin | 46.88% | 8,300 | 53.12% | 9,408 |
| Aroostook | 47.25% | 4,870 | 52.74% | 5,436 |
| Cumberland | 60.39% | 43,741 | 39.23% | 28,240 |
| Franklin | 48.08% | 3,104 | 50.63% | 3,184 |
| Hancock | 58.83% | 8,084 | 41.16% | 5,657 |
| Kennebec | 51.49% | 13,321 | 48.50% | 12,548 |
| Knox | 59.52% | 6,066 | 40.47% | 4,124 |
| Lincoln | 54.99% | 5,322 | 45.00% | 4,356 |
| Oxford | 48.33% | 5,729 | 51.66% | 6,124 |
| Penobscot | 46.55% | 11,820 | 53.44% | 13,567 |
| Piscataquis | 42.32% | 1,375 | 57.67% | 1,874 |
| Sagadahoc | 55.62% | 4,996 | 44.37% | 3,985 |
| Somerset | 43.38% | 3,701 | 56.61% | 4,830 |
| Waldo | 56.33% | 5,238 | 43.66% | 4,060 |
| Washington | 46.19% | 2,459 | 53.80% | 2,864 |
| York | 54.58% | 21,635 | 45.41% | 18,000 |
| UOCAVA | 80.34% | 139 | 19.65% | 34 |
| Total | 53.88% | 149,900 | 46.12% | 128,291 |