An Act to Eliminate Ranked-choice Voting
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0234
Sponsors: CAMPBELL, BRADSTREET
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1, 21-A MRSA §601, 21-A MRSA §605-A, 21-A MRSA §695, 21-A MRSA §696, 21-A MRSA §700, 21-A MRSA §711, 21-A MRSA §722, 21-A MRSA §723, 21-A MRSA §723-A, 21-A MRSA §737-A, 21-A MRSA §801, 21-A MRSA §803, 21-A MRSA §805

Legislative Document
No. 234
H.P. 157
House of Representatives, January 21, 2025
An Act to Eliminate Ranked-choice Voting
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 16, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CAMPBELL of Orrington.
Cosponsored by Senator BRADSTREET of Kennebec and
Representatives: GIFFORD of Lincoln, GREENWOOD of Wales, GRIFFIN of Levant, 
RUDNICKI of Fairfield, SOBOLESKI of Phillips, STROUT of Harrington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1, sub-§27-C, as repealed and replaced by PL 2021, c. 273, 
§1, is repealed.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1, sub-§35-A, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 3, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  21-A MRSA §601, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §2, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Arrangement.  The ballots must be arranged in a manner that is as consistent and 
uniform as possible throughout the State, except that ranked‑choice contests must be 
grouped together and may be presented on the same page of the ballot as contests other 
than ranked-choice contests or on a separate ballot or ballot page from contests other than 
ranked-choice contests.
Sec. 4.  21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §3, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Instructions must be printed on the ballot informing the voter how to designate the 
voter's choices on the ballot.  Specific instructions must be presented above or next to 
the first contest of each type, such as ranked-choice contests, contests other than 
ranked-choice contests or referenda.
Sec. 5.  21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶J, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §3, is 
repealed.
Sec. 6.  21-A MRSA §601, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 273, §10, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Order of offices.  The order of offices on the ballot is as follows:  President, United 
States Senator, Governor, Representative to Congress, State Senator and Representative to 
the Legislature, and the county offices in the following order: judge of probate, register of 
probate, county treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff, district attorney and county 
commissioner, except that the order may be modified to allow ranked-choice contests to be 
printed on the opposite side of the ballot, separate from contests other than ranked-choice 
contests.
Sec. 7.  21-A MRSA §605-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §4, is 
further amended to read:
A.  The voting instruction poster must include information on how to mark the ballot, 
including how to mark a write-in vote; how to replace the ballot if the voter makes a 
mistake; and how to receive assistance in marking the ballot.  It may include other 
voting information.  The Secretary of State may design separate instruction posters to 
instruct the voters on how to mark a ballot for elections to be determined by 
ranked‑choice voting and those to be determined by plurality.
Sec. 8.  21-A MRSA §695, first ¶, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §4, is further 
amended to read:
Except for elections determined by ranked-choice voting, the The following provisions 
apply to the counting of ballots.  The election clerks shall count the ballots under the 
supervision of the warden as soon as the polls are closed, except that if, in the opinion of 
the municipal clerk the public interests will best be served, referendum ballots may be 
counted on the day immediately following the election, as long as the count is completed 
within 24 hours after the polls are closed.  If referendum ballots are counted under this 
exception, the municipal clerk is responsible for the security and safekeeping of the ballots 
until the count has been completed.
Sec. 9.  21-A MRSA §696, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §5, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Except as provided in section 723‑A for elections determined by ranked-choice 
voting, if If a voter marks more names for an office than there are vacancies to be filled 
or more choices for a question than are permitted, the voter's vote for that office or 
question may not be counted.
Sec. 10.  21-A MRSA §700, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §6, is further 
amended to read:
As soon as practicable after the election return is prepared under section 711, if a secure 
place is available at the voting place or municipal office where the public may view a paper 
copy of the unofficial election results even when the voting place or municipal office is 
closed, an election official shall post a paper copy of the unofficial results of the election.  
For elections determined by ranked‑choice voting, an election official shall post a paper 
copy of the results of the first choice votes cast.
Sec. 11.  21-A MRSA §711, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §7, is further 
amended to read:
As soon as the results of the election have been declared, the election return must be 
prepared.  The warden at each ward or precinct shall fill out the election return form 
provided by the Secretary of State, showing the number of votes cast for each candidate or 
question and recording the total number of state ballots cast in that ward or precinct.  For 
elections determined by ranked‑choice voting, the warden shall report on the election return 
only the first choice votes cast.  The warden and one other election official shall sign the 
return and immediately deliver it to the municipal clerk.  The form provided by the 
Secretary of State must include the names of all candidates, including declared write-in 
candidates as determined by section 722‑A.
Sec. 12.  21-A MRSA §722, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §26, 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 elections determined by ranked-choice voting, 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 pursuant to section 722‑A.
Sec. 13.  21-A MRSA §723, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §8, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Primary election.  In a primary election, the person who receives a plurality of the 
votes cast for nomination to any office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that 
office, is nominated for that office, except for write-in candidates under paragraph A and 
elections determined by ranked‑choice voting under section 723‑A.
A.  A write-in candidate who complies with section 722‑A and who fulfills the other 
qualifications under section 334 may be nominated at the primary election if that person 
receives a number of valid write-in votes equal to at least twice the minimum number 
of signatures required under section 335, subsection 5 on a primary petition for a 
candidate for that office.
B.  The Secretary of State shall immediately certify by mail the nomination of each 
person nominated by the primary election.
Sec. 14.  21-A MRSA §723, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §7, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Other elections.  In any other election except for those determined by ranked-choice 
voting, 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 section 722‑A.
Sec. 15.  21-A MRSA §723-A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §§1 to 4, is repealed.
Sec. 16.  21-A MRSA §737-A, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §16, is 
further amended to read:
A candidate who is the apparent loser and who desires a recount must file with the 
Secretary of State a written request for a recount within 5 business days after the election, 
except that in an election determined by ranked‑choice voting, only a candidate who 
received one of the top 3 rankings at the end of the penultimate round of ranked‑choice 
counting may request a recount.  The recount is held under the supervision of the Secretary 
of State, who shall allow the candidate's representatives or counsel to recount the ballots.  
The candidate may not act as a counter of ballots.
Sec. 17.  21-A MRSA §801, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §5, is 
repealed.
Sec. 18.  21-A MRSA §803, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §6, is amended 
to read:
1.  Duties.  Except when the National Popular Vote for President Act governs the 
appointment of presidential electors, as soon as possible after the presidential electors are 
chosen, the Governor shall send a certificate of the determination of the electors to the 
Archivist of the United States under state seal. The certificate must state the names of the 
electors and the number of votes each candidate for President received statewide and for 
each congressional district in the final round of tabulation under section 723‑A. The 
Governor shall deliver 6 certificates under state seal to the electors before the day 
established by federal law for the meeting of electors.
Sec. 19.  21-A MRSA §803, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §6, is 
amended to read:
A.  As soon as possible after the canvass of the presidential count under section 723‑A, 
subsection 7 is determined electors are chosen, the Governor shall send a certificate of 
determination containing the names of the electors and the statewide number of votes 
for each presidential slate that received votes in the final round to the Archivist of the 
United States under state seal.  This final round vote is deemed to be the determination 
of the vote in the State for the purposes of section 1304.   
As used in this paragraph, "final round" means the round that ends with the result 
described in section 723‑A, subsection 7, paragraph C, subparagraph (1).
Sec. 20.  21-A MRSA §805, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §7, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Presidential electors.  Except as provided in subsection 2-A, the presidential 
electors at large shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates 
who received the largest number of votes in the State according to the ranked‑choice 
method of counting votes described in section 723‑A. The presidential electors of each 
congressional district shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential 
candidates who received the largest number of votes in each respective congressional 
district according to the ranked‑choice method of counting votes described in section 
723‑A.
SUMMARY
This bill repeals the laws governing ranked-choice voting in:
1.  Primary elections for the offices of President of the United States, United States 
Senator, United States Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State 
Representative;
2.  General and special elections for the offices of United States Senator and United 
States Representative to Congress; and
3.  General elections for presidential electors.