Maine's ranked choice voting system could play a role in deciding the Senate race between Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Sara Gideon. And that race could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
"We rank choices in our everyday life all the time," she says."We're always saying, you know, 'If they don't have the mint chocolate chip ice cream, can you please get me the rocky road?'"In terms of voting,"It allows people to really express their full range of opinions and preferences about all of the candidates running. And it's definitely working for us in Maine. And I think it's definitely encouraging more positive campaigns.
"Once folks look at it, it does seem to be fairly intuitive, and you fill in the little bubble," she says."It's almost like taking the SAT test, you know, from years ago. And you just fill in the little bubbles." The ranked-choice voting system was first used in the state's 2018 federal elections, so Maine voters are becoming more comfortable and familiar with the process.
Ranked-choice voting only comes into play if no candidate receives a majority — that is, 50% plus one vote. That happened in 2018 in Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin received a plurality but not a majority, and after voters' second choices were counted, Democrat Jared Golden won the seat.
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