FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Contact:  Kristen Schulze Muszynski
207-626-8400/ 207-441-7638

Secretary Dunlap seeking guidance on implementation of ranked-choice voting

AUGUSTA – Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap was notified late Wednesday of legal concerns regarding the implementation of ranked-choice voting and is now reviewing those concerns with legal counsel.

The final version of the ranked-choice voting law, Public Law 316, will be in effect for the June 12, 2018 Primary Election due to the pending People’s Veto of the legislature’s repeal of the law.

The section of law in question states that “in a primary election held before December 1, 2021, 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.” Ranked-choice voting determines a winner based on the majority of votes, rather than a plurality of the votes. A previous amendment to the law had changed this section to align with ranked-choice voting, but it was struck in later amendments.

“My role as the chief elections administrator is to implement the law and ensure that the voting process is accessible, secure and accurate,” said Dunlap. “While this new legal concern is under review, we will continue our implementation process for ranked-choice voting for the June 12, 2018 Primary Election.”