Sen. Reny introduces bill to expand ranked-choice voting to gubernatorial and legislative elections
AUGUSTA — On Thursday, April 24, Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol, introduced a bill to expand ranked-choice voting (RCV) to gubernatorial and state legislative elections. LD 1666, “An Act to Include in the Ranked-choice Election Method for General and Special Elections the Offices of Governor, State Senator and State Representative and to Make Other Related Changes,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Join Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs.
“Maine voters made their wishes clear by voting to adopt ranked-choice voting at the ballot box in both 2016 and 2018,” said Sen. Reny. “They support this method because it would ensure that the candidate with the broadest popular support (the most votes) would win in a single election. A consistent system of electing state and federal officials through ranked-choice voting would respect the will of the voters and honor the important history behind our state constitution. With the 2026 gubernatorial race around the corner, now is the time to adopt these changes.”
LD 1666 seeks to make technical changes to ensure Maine’s statutory language aligns more clearly with the state’s constitution. In 2017, the Maine Supreme Court found that RCV appeared to conflict with provisions in the Maine constitution that require certain elections be decided by a “plurality” of the vote. However, the non-binding opinion appeared to assume that a voter’s “first-preference ranking” was equivalent to the voter’s “vote.”
Since then, several organizations, including the Alaska Supreme Court and the Federal Elections Commission, have determined that there is a distinction between a preference and a vote, and that RCV does not contradict the spirit of plurality elections. LD 1666 would clarify Maine’s statutory language regarding how RCV can be used for gubernatorial and state legislative elections so that it is consistent with the text, history and purpose of the state constitution.
In her testimony in support of LD 1666, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said, “The deepest value of ranked-choice voting is that it allows voters to vote their heart, rather than their fears. … In 2016, Maine voters made their voices heard at the ballot box, passing a citizens’ initiative to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative. But Mainers have never had the opportunity to use ranked choice voting for General Election races for Governor, State Representative or State Senator. It is about time that Maine election laws match what Maine voters supported in that election.”
In testimony supporting the bill, Al Cleveland, Advocacy Director of the League of Women Voters of Maine, said, “This bill would give consistency to Maine voters in the voting process they are using for elections. In 2024, Maine successfully conducted [ranked-choice] elections for the fourth consecutive election cycle. What we see is clear: a majority of voters like RCV and want it to continue to be a feature of Maine elections. … It is time to end the practice of using different voting systems for federal candidates and state candidates appearing on the same general election ballot.”
LD 1666 faces further action in the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.
Sen. Reny represents Senate District 13, which includes most of Lincoln County and the towns of Washington and Windsor.
###
