Gov. Mills allows Maine to join National Popular Vote Compact without her signature

Ranked choice voting, which asks voters to rank multiple candidates in order of preference, has seen its profile steadily expand since 2016. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Gov. Janet Mills is allowing Maine to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, but she’s not putting her signature on the legislation. 

Mills had 10 days after the Legislature gave its approval of the bill to decide if she was going to sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature. She said in a statement Monday afternoon that she’s spent that time “carefully considering” the bill and reviewing arguments on both sides. 

“Still recognizing that there is merit to both sides of the argument, and recognizing that this measure has been the subject of public discussion several times before in Maine, I would like this important nationwide debate to continue and so I will allow this bill to become law without my signature,” she said in the statement. 

LD 1578, sponsored by Rep. Arthur Bell (D-Yarmouth), adopts the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact in Maine. States that are part of the compact pledge their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate with the most overall votes across the country. However, it would only take effect once states with a total of 270 Electoral College votes have joined.

Mills decision makes Maine the 17th state to ratify the national popular vote agreement, giving the compact a total of 209 electoral votes out of the 270 needed for enactment. 

If implemented, the agreement would guarantee that the winner of the national popular vote would be elected president. The reform seeks to avoid situations like the 2016 election, when Donald Trump was elevated to the presidency despite winning fewer overall votes than Hillary Clinton.

In her statement, Mills said she “struggle(s) to reconcile the fact that a candidate who has fewer actual votes than their opponent” can still become president. 

“Absent a ranked choice voting circumstance, it seems to me that the person who wins the most votes should become the president,” Mills said. “To do otherwise seemingly runs counter to the democratic foundations of our country.”

Critics of the bill voiced concerns about the National Popular Vote Compact silencing the voices of people in rural states like Maine with fewer voters than large metropolitan areas. They also feared that presidential candidates would be deterred from ever spending time in Maine. 

While Mills said she sees merit in the argument of both camps, she said that the measure would ultimately ensure that each vote carries equal weight. She also believes it could ensure that candidates spend time in each state.

Mills further pointed out in her statement that Maine’s decision to join the compact will have no effect on this year’s presidential election. 

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