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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1373
H.P. 896 House of Representatives, April 1, 2025
An Act to Repeal the National Popular Vote Compact
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 28, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FREDETTE of Newport.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BLIER of Buxton, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor,
MINGO of Calais, MORRIS of Turner, PERKINS of Dover-Foxcroft, POIRIER of
Skowhegan, WADSWORTH of Hiram, Senator: TIMBERLAKE of Androscoggin.
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1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §1, is
3 further amended to read:
4 C. "Continuing candidate" means a candidate who has not been removed from
5 consideration defeated.
6Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §2, is further
7 amended to read:
82. Procedures. Except as provided in subsections 3, and 4 and 7, the following
9 procedures are used to determine the winner of an election determined by ranked-choice
10 voting. The ranked‑choice voting count must proceed in rounds. In each round, the number
11 of votes for each continuing candidate must be counted. Each continuing ballot counts as
12 one vote for its highest-ranked continuing candidate for that round. Exhausted ballots are
13 not counted for any continuing candidate. The round then ends with one of the following
14 2 potential outcomes.
15 A. If there are 2 or fewer continuing candidates, the candidate with the most votes is
16 declared the winner of the election.
17 B. If there are more than 2 continuing candidates, the last-place candidate is removed
18 from consideration defeated and a new round begins.
19Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §3, is further
20 amended to read:
213. Ties. A tie under this section between last-place candidates in any round must be
22 decided by lot, and the candidate chosen by lot is removed from consideration defeated.
23 The result of the tie resolution must be recorded and reused in the event of a recount. A tie
24 between candidates for the most votes in the final round must be decided as provided in
25 section 732.
26Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §723-A, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §4, is
27 repealed.
28Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §801, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §5, is further
29 amended to read:
302. Counting of ballots. Counting of ballots for candidates for President must proceed
31 according to the ranked‑choice method of counting votes described in section 723‑A, with
32 the exception of subsection 7. If the National Popular Vote for President Act governs the
33 manner of appointing presidential electors, counting of ballots must proceed according to
34 the ranked-choice method of counting votes as described in section 723‑A, subsection 7.
35Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §803, as repealed and replaced by PL 2023, c. 628, §6, is
36 repealed.
37Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §803-A is enacted to read:
38§803-A. Duties of Governor
39 As soon as possible after the presidential electors are chosen, the Governor shall send
40 a certificate of the determination of the electors to the Archivist of the United States under
41 the state seal. The certificate must state the names of the electors and the number of votes
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42 each candidate for President received statewide and for each congressional district in the
43 final round of tabulation under section 723‑A. The Governor shall deliver 6 certificates
44 under the state seal to the electors before the day established by federal law for the meeting
45 of electors.
5Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §805, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §7, is further
6 amended to read:
72. Presidential electors. Except as provided in subsection 2-A, the The presidential
8 electors at large shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates
9 who received the largest number of votes in the State according to the ranked‑choice
10 method of counting votes described in section 723‑A. The presidential electors of each
11 congressional district shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential
12 candidates who received the largest number of votes in each respective congressional
13 district according to the ranked‑choice method of counting votes described in section
14723‑A.
15Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §805, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §8, is
16 repealed.
17Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA c. 17, as amended, is repealed.
18SUMMARY
19 This bill repeals the National Popular Vote for President Act and makes changes to
20 other election statutes to reflect that repeal.
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