Resolve, To Authorize a Pilot Project on Ranked Choice Voting
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1344
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: RUSSELL, ALFOND, FITTS, GOODE, HINCK, KNIGHT, O'BRIEN, PINGREE, TRINWARD

FIRST RElJULAK SESSIuN-z009 
Legislative Document 
No. 1344 
H.P.945 
House of Representatives, March 31, 2009 
Resolve, To Authorize a Pilot Project on Ranked Choice Voting 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative RUSSELL of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator ALFOND of Cumberland and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: FITTS of Pittsfield, GOODE of Bangor, HINCK of Portland, KNIGHT of 
Livermore Falls, MacDONALD of Boothbay, O'BRIEN of Lincolnville, Speaker PINGREE of 
North Haven, TRINWARD of Waterville. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Sec. 1. Definitions. Resolved: That, as used in this resolve, the following tenns 
have the following meanings. 
1. Advancing candidate. "Advancing candidate" means a candidate for office who 
has not been eliminated in a round of tabulation of votes of ranked choice voting. 
2. Exhausted ballot. "Exhausted ballot" means a ballot that has no remaining 
available candidates after a round of tabulation of votes in ranked choice voting. 
3. 
Organized municipality. 
"Organized municipality" means a town, city or 
plantation in the State. 
4. Project. "Project" means the ranked choice voting pilot project. 
5. Ranked choice voting. "Ranked choice voting" means a run-off voting method 
that produces a majority willl1er in an election with 3 or more candidates in which the 
ballot allows a voter, after marking the voter's first choice, to numerically rank the voter's 
2nd and subsequent choices in descending order of preference to determine a majority 
willl1er when the leading candidate after the initial round of tabulation has not obtained a 
majority of first-choice votes. In ranked choice voting, when the leading candidate has 
not obtained a majority of first-choice votes after the initial round of tabulation of votes, a 
2nd round of tabulation is held in which the candidate with the smallest number of first-
choice votes is eliminated and the ballots are recounted with the next choice of candidate 
in descending order to the eliminated candidate replacing the eliminated candidate's 
ranking on each ballot. If the 2nd round of tabulation of votes does not produce a 
majority willl1er, then the process is repeated with subsequent rounds of elimination and 
tabulation until a candidate wins a majority of votes. 
6. Selected municipality. "Selected municipality" means an organized municipality 
selected by the Secretary of State to participate in the project under section 2; and be it 
further 
Sec. 2. Secretary of State to oversee a pilot project to implement ranked 
choice voting in certain municipal elections. Resolved: That, with the agreement 
of the election officials of the municipalities, the Secretary of State shall select up to 10 
organized municipalities to participate in a ranked choice voting pilot project. Ranked 
choice voting must be used in all qualifying elections of a selected municipality for a 
period of 2 years from the effective date of this resolve if the election is: 
1. Date. Held on a different date than a statewide or other jurisdictional election; 
2. Secret ballot. A secret ballot election; and 
3. Candidate. For a local office in which only one candidate is being selected. 
The Secretary of State shall consider location and demographic composition in 
selecting an organized municipality under this section; and be it further 
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Sec. 3. Ballot specifications. Resolved: That a selected municipality shall use a 
ranked choice voting ballot provided by the Secretary of State for an election under 
section 2. A ranked choice ballot may only have one space for a write-in candidate. The 
Secretary of State shall establish the form, content and terms of use for all documents and 
instructions for a ranked choice voting ballot and infonning a voter of the proper use of 
the ballot; and be it further 
Sec. 4. Ballot counting. Resolved: That a municipal election official of a 
selected municipality shall count a ranked choice ballot pursuant to the provisions of 
section 1, subsection 5. A ballot that skips more than one ranking for the first choice in a 
subsequent tabulation round from the previous tabulation round is deemed exhausted. A 
ballot with 2 or more first-choice candidates in a tabulation round is deemed exhausted 
except if only one oandidate in that ranking is an advancing candidate for that round. A 
candidate may be eliminated at the end of a tabulation round if for that round the sum of 
the total of first-choice votes for the candidate and the total of first-choice votes of any 
oandidate with fewer first-choice votes than the candidate is less than the number of first-
ohoice votes of the candidate with the next greatest number of votes. The Secretary of 
State shall oversee ballot counting under this section; and be it further 
Sec. 5. Effects on political parties. Resolved: That, for the purposes of a 
constitutional or statutory provision concerning a political party, the number of votes cast 
for a candidate of a political party in an election is the number of votes cast for that 
candidate in the first round of ranked choice voting; and be it further 
Sec. 6. Rules. Resolved: That the Secretary of State may adopt rules to carry out 
the purposes of this resolve. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine teclmical 
rules pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; and be 
it further 
Sec. 7. 
Application. 
Resolved: That the terms of this resolve replace a 
conflicting provision of any statute or municipal charter or ordinance concerning the 
conduct of a municipal election of a selected municipality; and be it further 
Sec. 8. Severability clause. Resolved: That the provisions of this resolve are 
severable and if any provision or application of a provision of this resolve is held to be 
invalid that invalidity does not affect any other provision or application of this resolve 
that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application; and be it further 
Sec. 9. Report. Resolved: That the Secretary of State shall submit a report 
concerning the project and any recommended legislation to the joint standing committee 
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over legal and veterans affairs by December 7, 
2011. The committee is authorized to submit legislation related to this report to the 
report. 
SUMMARY 
This resolve establishes a 2-year pilot project overseen by the Secretary of State that 
involves ranked choice voting to determine a majority winner in municipal elections with 
or more candidates. The pilot project will involve up to 10 municipalities selected by 
the Secretary of State to implement ranked choice voting in municipal elections that are 
held at a different time than a statewide election, are secret ballot elections and are for 
offices in which only one candidate is being selected. The ranked choice voting ballot 
allows the voter to rank in descending order of preference the voter's 2nd and subsequent 
choices for office after marking the voter's first choice for office. If, after the initial 
round of voting there is not a majority winner, the candidate with the least amount of 
votes is eliminated with all choices behind that candidate moved up in preference on each 
ballot. 
A 2nd and subsequent rounds of voting are held using this process until a 
candidate receives a majority of votes for the office. For purposes of the rights of 
political parties, the amount of votes a candidate of a political party receives in the first 
round of tabulation is considered the amount of votes that candidate received in the 
election for that office. This resolve directs the Secretary of State to submit a report 
concerning the pilot proj ect and any recommended legislation to the 125th Legislature. 
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