Maine to be first state to use ranked-choice voting in presidential election
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has cleared the way for Maine to be the first state to use ranked-choice voting during a presidential election, CNN reports, after the justice rejected an emergency appeal from Republicans.
Under ranked-choice voting, which Maine voters approved by ballot measure in 2016, voters list their desired candidates in order of preference. If their candidate isn’t viable, their vote goes to their next choice down the list until one candidate wins 50 per cent of votes.
Justice Breyer rejected the appeal without comment on Tuesday.
Republicans in Maine had appealed to the high court in October seeking to suspend a September decision from the Maine Supreme Court which allowed ranked choice voting to go forward this election. The appellants argued ranked choice voting should be suspended this election, since it’s being challenged in Maine this November via a proposed ballot initiative.
In their original ruling, the state Supreme Court upheld Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s decision to reject a proposed ballot measure challenging ranked choice voting because it didn’t collect enough required signatures.
“Breyer, who handles emergency appeals from the geographic area that includes Maine, turned down the request without comment and without referring the appeal to the full court, suggesting that Breyer did not regard it as a particularly close call,” wrote Amy Howe at legal analysis site SCOTUSblog.
