An Act to Establish Instant Run-otT Voting
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0212
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: BULL, SIMPSON, DAGGETT, DUDLEY, KOFFMAN, O'NEIL, PINGREE, RICHARDSON, TWOMEY, STRIMLING
Amends: 21-A MRSA §601

Legislative Document 
No. 212 
H.P.171 
House of Representatives, January 21,2003 
An Act to Establish Instant Run-otT Voting 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative BULL of Freeport. 
'7i/~ 111.1J7~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative SIMPSON of Auburn, President DAGGETT of Kennebec and 
Representatives: DUDLEY of Portland, KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, McKEE of Wayne, 
O'NEIL of Saco, PINGREE of North Haven, RICHARDSON of Brunswick, TWOMEY of 
Biddeford, Senator: STRIMLING of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 21-A MRSA §l, sub-§21-A is enacted to read: 
21-A. 
Instant run-off voting method. 
"Instant 
run-off 
voting method" means a method of casting and tabulating votes 
that simulates the ballot counts that would occur if all voters 
participated in a series of run-off elections and that allows 
voters to rank candidates according to their preferences. 
Sec. 2. 21·A MRSA §l, sub·§27.B is enacted to read: 
-B. 
Offices subject to instant run-off voting method. 
"Offices subject to the instant run-off voting method" means the 
offices of President. 
Vice President. 
United States Senator. 
United States Representative to Congress. Governor. state Senator 
and state Representative. 
Sec.3. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, 1[J is enacted to read: 
J. 
For offices 
subject to 
the 
instant 
run-off 
voting 
method. the ballot must be simple and easy to understand and 
allow a voter to rank candidates for an office in order of 
choice. 
A voter may include 
no 
more 
than one write-in 
candidate 
among 
that 
voter's 
ranked 
choices 
for 
each 
office. 
If feasible. ballots must be designed so that a 
voter may mark that voter's first choices in the same manner 
as that for offices not elected by the instant run-off 
voting method. 
Instructions on the ballot must conform substantially to the 
following specifications. although subject to modification 
based on ballot design and voting machine: 
"Vote 
for 
candidates 
by 
indicating 
your 
first-choice 
candidate 
and 
ranking additional candidates in order of 
preference. 
Indicate 
your 
first 
choice 
by 
marking 
the 
number "1" beside a candidate's name. your 2nd choice by 
marking the number "2" beside a candidate's name. your 3rd 
choice by marking the number "3" beside a candidate's name 
and so on. for as many choices as you wish. 
You may choose 
to 
rank 
only 
one 
candidate. 
but 
ranking 
additional 
candidates 
will 
not 
help 
defeat 
your 
first-choice 
candidate. 
Do not mark the Same number beside more than one 
candidate. 
Do not skip numbers." 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRS A §603, sub-§l, 1[C is enacted to read: 
Page I-LROlll(l) 
, 
C. 
A sample ballot for an office subject to the instant 
run off voting method must illustrate the voting procedure 
for the instant run-off voting method. 
Sec. 5. 21·A MRSA §603, sub·§7 is enacted to read: 
7. 
Include with absentee ballot. 
A clerk shall provide a 
sample ballot with each absentee ballot. 
Sec. 6. 21·A MRSA §625, as amended by PL 1997, c. 436, §87, 
is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read: 
The clerk shall post a sample ballot in or near a voting 
booth on election day. 
Sec. 7. 21·A MRSA §722, sub·§l, as amended by PL 2001, c. 516, 
§13, is fUl'ther amended to read: 
1. 
How tabulated. 
The Secretary of State shall tabulate 
all votes that appear by an election return to have been cast for 
each question or candidate whose name appeared on the ballot. 
For offices subject to the instant run-off voting method, 
the 
Secretary of State must tabulate the votes according to the 
instant run-off voting method described in section 726. 
All 
write-in candidates, 
as defined in section 1, 
subsection 51, 
receiving less than 5% of the votes cast for that office must be 
titled "others" when the tabulation is processed. 
Sec. 8. 21·A MRSA §723, sub·§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 516, 
§15, is further amended to read: 
2. 
Other elections. 
In any other election, the person who 
receives 
a 
plurality of the votes cast for election to 
any 
office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that 
office, 
is 
elected 
to 
that 
office, 
except 
that 
wlE'it:e-iB 
eaBaiaat:es-ffi~st:-alsa-eaffiply-wit:R-seet:iaB-766-AT~ 
A. 
Write-in candidates must also comply with section 722-A: 
and 
B. 
For 
offices 
subject 
to 
the 
instant 
run-off 
voting 
method, the person who is determined to be the winner under 
the instant run-off voting method described in section 726 
is elected to that office. 
Sec. 9. 21·A MRSA §726 is enacted to read: 
S726. 
Instant run off voting method 
1. 
Procedures. 
The 
following 
procedures 
are 
used 
to 
determine the winner in an election for an office subject to the 
instant run-off voting method. 
A. 
The first choice marked on each ballot must be counted 
initially by the election officials. 
The ballot count is 
the 
same 
as 
the 
count 
that 
would 
occur 
if 
voters 
participated in a series of run-off elections, with the 
weakest candidate eliminated after each round of counting. 
B. 
In every round of counting, each ballot is counted as 
one 
vote 
for 
that 
ballot's 
highest-ranked 
advancing 
candidate. 
"Advancing candidate" means a candidate for an 
office 
who 
has 
not 
been 
eliminated. 
If 
more 
than 
candidates have received votes after the initial round of 
counting, the Secretary of State shall conduct an instant 
run-off round. 
In this instant run-off round, the Secretary 
of State shall eliminate the candidate with the 
fewest 
votes. 
A ballot that ranks this eliminated candidate as the 
highest-ranked candidate must be counted as a vote for the 
highest-ranked advancing candidate on that ballot. 
This 
process of counting votes and eliminating the candidate with 
the fewest votes must continue until 
candidates remain. 
The candidate with the most votes then must be declared the 
winner. 
C. 
If a ballot has no more available choices ranked on it, 
that ballot must be declared exhausted. 
A ballot that skips 
one number must be counted for that voter's next clearly 
indicated choice, but a ballot that skips more than one 
number must be declared exhausted when this skipping of 
numbers is reached. 
A ballot with the same number for 2 or 
more candidates must be declared exhausted when these double 
numbers are reached. 
D. 
For ties between candidates occurring at any stage in 
the 
tabulation, 
determinations 
must 
be 
made 
based 
on 
whomever was credited with the most votes at the previous 
stage of tabulation. 
In the case of any tie to which a 
previous stage does not apply, the tie must be resolved in 
accordance with the general election laws of the State. 
2. 
Change of voting method. 
The legislative body of a 
municipality or election authorities may provide for the use of 
mechanical, electronic or other devices for marking, sorting and 
counting the ballots and tabulating the results and may modify 
the form of the ballots, the directions to voters and the details 
with 
respect 
to 
the 
method 
of 
marking, 
sorting, 
counting, 
invalidating 
and 
retaining 
ballots 
and 
the 
tabulating 
and 
, 
.' 
recounting of votes, as long as no change is made that alters the 
intent or principles embodied in this section. 
3. 
Modification of instant run-off voting method ballot and 
count. 
Modification of an instant run-off voting method ballot 
and count is permitted in accordance with the following. 
A. 
If the Secretary of State determines that the number of 
candidates for 
a particular office exceeds the practical 
space requirements for ranking all candidates on the ballot, 
the number of allowable rankings may be limited to no fewer 
than 5 candidates. 
B. 
More than one candidate may be eliminated simultaneously 
if the number of total votes credited for those candidates 
is fewer than the number of total votes credited for the 
candidate with the next greatest number of votes. 
4. 
Effect 
on 
rights 
of political 
parties. 
For 
all 
statutory and constitutional provisions in the State pertaining 
to the rights of political parties, the number of votes cast for 
a party's candidate for a particular off ice is the number of 
votes credited to that candidate after the initial round of 
counting. 
Sec. 10. 21·A MRSA §805, sub·§2, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 
161, §6, is amended to read: 
2. 
Presidential electors. 
The presidential electors at 
large 
shall 
cast 
their 
ballots 
for 
the 
presidential 
and 
vice-presidential candidates who 
Feeei:vee.--t-he--±aF~est--numbe-r--eE 
vet:es--iB were declared the winners pursuant to section 726 for 
the 
State. 
The 
presidential 
electors 
of 
each 
congressional 
district shall 
cast their ballots 
for 
the 
presidential 
and 
vice-presidential candidates who 
Feeei:vee.--t-he--±aF~est--numbe-r--eE 
vetes were declared the winners pursuant to section 726 in each 
respective congressional district. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates the instant run-off voting method of 
determining winners in elections for President, Vice President, 
United States Senator, United States Representative to Congress, 
Governor, 
state Senator and state Representative. 
The method 
simulates 
the ballot counts that would occur if all voters 
participated in a series of run-off elections and allows a voter 
to rank candidates according to that voter's preferences. 
Each 
voter has only one vote for each office, 
and the ballot count is 
the same as would occur if voters participated in a series of 
run-off elections, with the weakest candidate eliminated after 
each round of counting. 
There is an initial round of counting. 
If more than 
candidates have 
received votes after the initial 
round, 
the 
Secretary of State conducts an instant run-off round. 
In this 
instant run-off 
round, 
the Secretary of State eliminates the 
candidate 
with 
the 
fewest 
votes. 
A ballot that 
ranks 
this 
eliminated candidate as the highest-ranked candidate is counted 
as 
a 
vote for the highest-ranked advancing candidate on that 
ballot. 
An advancing candidate is a candidate who has not been 
eliminated. 
This process of counting votes and eliminating the 
candidate with the fewest votes continues until 
candidates 
remain. 
The candidate with the most votes is declared the winner. 
For the presidential and vice-presidential elections, the 
instant run-off voting method is conducted to determine winners 
for the entire State as well as in each congressional district.