An Act to Save Tax
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0656
Committee Amendment CA_A_H186 (House)
Amends: 21-A MRSA §723-A

• FIRST SPECIAL SESSION 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" At to H.P. 424, L.D. 656, "An Act to Save Tax 
Dollars in Maine's Elections by Amending the Laws Governing When a Ranked-choice 
Voting Count Must Be Conducted" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and insetting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 21-A MR.SA §723-A, sub-§1, 'ifA, as repealed by PI,;2023, q: 304., Pt.A, 
§ 14, is reenacted to read: 
A. 
"Batch elimination" means the simulfane·ous defeat of 111ultiple"ca.11didates for 
whom it is mathematically impossible to be elected. • • • 
• . . 
. 
: • 
• . ; • 
Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§1, 'ifG-.1 is enacted to read: 
G-1 ~ "Mathematically impossible to be elected" means: 
(1) A candidate cannot be elected because the vote total for the candidate in a 
round of the ranked-choice voting count plus all votes that could possibly be 
transferred to the candidate in future rounds of the ranked-choice voting count is 
not enough to surpass the candidate with the next higher vote total in the round: or 
(2) The vote total for a candidate is lmver than the vote total for a candidate 
described in subparagraph (1). 
Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §2, is fu1ther 
amended to read: 
2. Procedures. Except as provided in subsections 3, 4 and 7, the following procedures 
are used to dete1111ine the winner of an election determined by ranked-choice voting, The 
ranked-choice voting count must proceed in rounds. In each round, the number of votes 
for each continuing candidate must be counted, Each continuing ballot counts as one vote 
for its highest-ranked continuing candidate for that round, If a continuing ballot contains 
a skipped ranking in that round, the ballot is not counted in that round in the total number 
of votes cast used to determine the winner of the election, Exhausted ballots are not 
Page I - 132LR0316(02) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "Pr.' to H.P. 424, L.D. 656 
counted fol' any continuin·g candidate. The round then ends With one of the following 2 
potential outcomes. 
A. If there are 2 or fewer continuing candidates, the candidate with the 11:1ost votes is 
. 4 
declared the winner of the election. 
B. If there are more than 2 continuing candidates, the last-place candidate is 1:emoved 
from consideration and a new round begins .. 
Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§4, 1C is enacted to read: 
C. Two or more candidates may be defeated simultaneously by batch elimination in 
any round. 
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§5-B, as amended by_ PL 
2023, c. 304, Pt. A, 
§18 and affected by §39, is further amended to read: 
5-B. Presidential primary elections; selection of delegates. Notwithstanding any 
provision of this section to the contrary, for presidential primary elections, batch 
elimination may not be used for any candidate with more than 100 vote·s, tabulation must 
contiirne until only 2 continuing candidates remain, separate tabulations must be conducted 
statewide and for each congressional district and selection and allocation of delegates to a 
party's national presidential nominating convention must be in accordance with any 
reasonable procedures established at the state party convention, except that unenrolled 
voters who pa1ticipate in the patty's primary election must be considered members of the . 
patty for purposes of aHocating delegates.' 
21' 
Amend the bill by relettering o'r renumbering any nonconsecutive Patt letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment r~establishes batch elimination, 
which is defined as the simultaneous defeat of multiple candidates who cannot be elected 
because a candidate's vote total in a round of the ranked-choice voting count plus all votes 
that could possibly be transferred to the candidate in future rounds from candidates with 
fewer votes or an equal number of votes would not be enough to surpass the candidate with 
the next higher vote total in the round and any candidates with a lower vote total than the 
one described. The ranked-choice voting count is permitted to be modified to allow for 
batch elimination of 2 or more candidates in any round of tabulation, except that in 
presidential primary elections, batch elimination may not be used for any candidates with 
more than 100 votes. 
The amendment also amends the procedures for the ranked-:choice voting count to 
5 
include that if a continuing ballot contains a skipped ranking in that round, the ballot is not 
counted in that round in the total number of votes cast used to determine the winner of the 
7 
elec.tion. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
. 
.