An Act To Establish Ranked-choice Voting in the State
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0518
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: WOODBURY, COOPER, RUSSELL, CLEVELAND, HASKELL, LANGLEY, CHIPMAN, KNIGHT, KRUGER, KUMIEGA, MORIARTY
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1, 21-A MRSA §601, 21-A MRSA §603, 21-A MRSA §625, 21-A MRSA §722, 21-A MRSA §723, 21-A MRSA §723-A, 21-A MRSA §753-B

Legislative Document 
No. 518 
S.P. 208 
In Senate, February 19, 2013 
An Act To Establish Ranked-choice Voting in the State 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator WOODBURY of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative COOPER of Yarmouth, Representative RUSSELL of Portland 
and 
Senators: CLEVELAND of Androscoggin, HASKELL of Cumberland, LANGLEY of 
Hancock, Representatives: CHIPMAN of Portland, KNIGHT of Livermore Falls, KRUGER of 
Thomaston, KUMIEGA of Deer Isle, MORIARTY of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1, sub-§27-C is enacted to read: 
27-C.  Offices subject to the ranked-choice voting method. "Offices subject to the 
ranked-choice voting method" means the offices of United States Senator, United States 
Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State Representative. 
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1, sub-§35-A is enacted to read: 
35-A.  Ranked-choice voting method.  "Ranked-choice 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 for an office subject to the ranked-choice voting method according to the 
voters' preferences. 
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶J is enacted to read: 
J.  For offices subject to the ranked-choice 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 ranked-choice voting method. 
Instructions on the ballot must conform substantially to the following specifications, 
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.  Do not mark the same number 
beside more than one candidate." 
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §603, sub-§1, ¶C is enacted to read: 
C.  A sample ballot for an office subject to the ranked-choice voting method must 
illustrate the voting procedure for the ranked-choice 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 2009, c. 538, §7, is further amended 
by adding at the end a new paragraph to read: 
The clerk shall post a sample ballot in or near each voting booth on election day. 
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §722, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §36, is 
further 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 ranked-choice voting method, the Secretary of State 
shall tabulate the votes according to the ranked-choice voting method described in section 
723-A.  The Secretary of State shall tabulate the votes that appear by an election return to 
have been cast for a declared write-in candidate and shall tabulate the votes that appear to 
have been cast for an undeclared write-in candidate based on a recount requested and 
conducted pursuant to section 737-A, subsection 2-A. 
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §723, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 253, §39, 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 a write-in candidate must also comply with 
either section 722-A or section 737-A, subsection 2-A.: 
A.  Write-in candidates must also comply with section 722-A or section 737-A, 
subsection 2-A; and 
B.  For offices subject to the ranked-choice voting method, the person who is 
determined to be the winner under the ranked-choice voting method described in 
section 723-A is elected to that office. 
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §723-A is enacted to read: 
§723-A.  Determination of winner in election for an office subject to the ranked-
choice voting method. 
1.  Procedures.  The following procedures are used to determine the winner in an 
election for an office subject to the ranked-choice 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 candidate with the fewest votes 
eliminated after each round of counting. If a candidate receives a majority of votes 
after the first round, that candidate is declared the winner. 
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 2 candidates have received votes 
after the initial round of counting, the Secretary of State shall conduct a 2nd round.  
In this 2nd 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 2 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 duplicate 
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 pursuant to section 732. 
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 ranked-choice voting method ballot and count.  Modification 
of a ranked-choice 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 an office 
subject to the ranked-choice voting method 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.  Two or more candidates 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 an office subject to the ranked-choice voting method is the 
number of votes credited to that candidate after the initial round of counting. 
Sec. 10.  21-A MRSA §753-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 399, §22, is 
further amended to read: 
1.  Application or written request received.  Upon receipt of an application or 
written request for an absentee ballot that is accepted pursuant to section 753-A, the clerk 
shall immediately issue a sample ballot, pursuant to section 603, subsection 7, an 
absentee ballot and return envelope by mail or in person to the applicant or to the 
immediate family member or to a 3rd person designated in a written application or 
request made by the voter, except as provided in subsection 2.  The clerk shall type or 
write in ink the name and the residence address of the voter in the designated section of 
the return envelope. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates the ranked-choice voting method of determining winners in elections 
for 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 and the 
ballot count is the same as would occur if voters participated in a series of run-off 
elections, with the candidate with the fewest votes eliminated after each round of 
counting. 
There is an initial round of counting. If a candidate receives a majority of votes after 
the first round, that candidate is declared the winner. If more than 2 candidates have 
received votes after the initial round, the Secretary of State conducts a 2nd round. In this 
2nd 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 2 candidates remain. The candidate 
with the most votes is declared the winner.