An Act to Abolish Ranked-choice Voting

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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 668
H.P. 436 House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Abolish Ranked-choice Voting
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 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 UNDERWOOD of Presque Isle.
Cosponsored by Senator LIBBY of Cumberland and
Representatives: ADAMS of Lebanon, BAGSHAW of Windham, CAMPBELL of Orrington,
COLLINS of Sidney, HAGGAN of Hampden, QUINT of Hodgdon, SOBOLESKI of Phillips,
THORNE of Carmel.

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1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §1, sub-§27-C, as repealed and replaced by PL 2021, c. 273,
3 §1, is repealed.
4Sec. 2. 21-A MRSA §1, sub-§35-A, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 3, §2, is repealed.
5Sec. 3. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §2, is further
6 amended to read:
71. Arrangement. The ballots must be arranged in a manner that is as consistent and
8 uniform as possible throughout the State, except that ranked‑choice contests must be
9 grouped together and may be presented on the same page of the ballot as contests other
10 than ranked-choice contests or on a separate ballot or ballot page from contests other than
11 ranked-choice contests.
12Sec. 4. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §3, is
13 further amended to read:
14 A. Instructions must be printed on the ballot informing the voter how to designate the
15 voter's choices on the ballot. Specific instructions must be presented above or next to
16 the first contest of each type, such as ranked-choice contests, contests other than
17 ranked-choice contests or referenda.
18Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§2, ¶J, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §3, is
19 repealed.
20Sec. 6. 21-A MRSA §601, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 273, §10, is further
21 amended to read:
223. Order of offices. The order of offices on the ballot is as follows: President, United
23 States Senator, Governor, Representative to Congress, State Senator and Representative to
24 the Legislature, and the county offices in the following order: judge of probate, register of
25 probate, county treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff, district attorney and county
26 commissioner, except that the order may be modified to allow ranked-choice contests to be
27 printed on the opposite side of the ballot, separate from contests other than ranked-choice
28 contests.
29Sec. 7. 21-A MRSA §605-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §4, is
30 further amended to read:
31 A. The voting instruction poster must include information on how to mark the ballot,
32 including how to mark a write-in vote; how to replace the ballot if the voter makes a
33 mistake; and how to receive assistance in marking the ballot. It may include other
34 voting information. The Secretary of State may design separate instruction posters to
35 instruct the voters on how to mark a ballot for elections to be determined by
36ranked‑choice voting and those to be determined by plurality.
37Sec. 8. 21-A MRSA §695, first ¶, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §4, is further
38 amended to read:
39 Except for elections determined by ranked-choice voting, the The following provisions
40 apply to the counting of ballots. The election clerks shall count the ballots under the
41 supervision of the warden as soon as the polls are closed, except that if, in the opinion of
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42 the municipal clerk the public interests will best be served, referendum ballots may be
43 counted on the day immediately following the election, as long as the count is completed
44 within 24 hours after the polls are closed. If referendum ballots are counted under this
45 exception, the municipal clerk is responsible for the security and safekeeping of the ballots
46 until the count has been completed.
6Sec. 9. 21-A MRSA §696, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §5, is
7 further amended to read:
8 A. Except as provided in section 723‑A for elections determined by ranked-choice
9 voting, if If a voter marks more names for an office than there are vacancies to be filled
10 or more choices for a question than are permitted, the voter's vote for that office or
11 question may not be counted.
12Sec. 10. 21-A MRSA §700, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §6, is further
13 amended to read:
14 As soon as practicable after the election return is prepared under section 711, if a secure
15 place is available at the voting place or municipal office where the public may view a paper
16 copy of the unofficial election results even when the voting place or municipal office is
17 closed, an election official shall post a paper copy of the unofficial results of the election.
18 For elections determined by ranked‑choice voting, an election official shall post a paper
19 copy of the results of the first choice votes cast.
20Sec. 11. 21-A MRSA §711, first ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §7, is further
21 amended to read:
22 As soon as the results of the election have been declared, the election return must be
23 prepared. The warden at each ward or precinct shall fill out the election return form
24 provided by the Secretary of State, showing the number of votes cast for each candidate or
25 question and recording the total number of state ballots cast in that ward or precinct. For
26 elections determined by ranked‑choice voting, the warden shall report on the election return
27 only the first choice votes cast. The warden and one other election official shall sign the
28 return and immediately deliver it to the municipal clerk. The form provided by the
29 Secretary of State must include the names of all candidates, including declared write-in
30 candidates as determined by section 722‑A.
31Sec. 12. 21-A MRSA §722, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 371, §26, is further
32 amended to read:
331. How tabulated. The Secretary of State shall tabulate all votes that appear by an
34 election return to have been cast for each question or candidate whose name appeared on
35 the ballot. For elections determined by ranked-choice voting, the Secretary of State shall
36 tabulate the votes according to the ranked-choice voting method described in section
37723‑A. The Secretary of State shall tabulate the votes that appear by an election return to
38 have been cast for a declared write-in candidate pursuant to section 722‑A.
39Sec. 13. 21-A MRSA §723, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §8, is further
40 amended to read:
411. Primary election. In a primary election, the person who receives a plurality of the
42 votes cast for nomination to any office, as long as there is at least one vote cast for that
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43 office, is nominated for that office, except for write-in candidates under paragraph A and
44 elections determined by ranked‑choice voting under section 723‑A.
3 A. A write-in candidate who complies with section 722‑A and who fulfills the other
4 qualifications under section 334 may be nominated at the primary election if that person
5 receives a number of valid write-in votes equal to at least twice the minimum number
6 of signatures required under section 335, subsection 5 on a primary petition for a
7 candidate for that office.
8 B. The Secretary of State shall immediately certify by mail the nomination of each
9 person nominated by the primary election.
10Sec. 14. 21-A MRSA §723, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2017, c. 316, §7, is further
11 amended to read:
122. Other elections. In any other election except for those determined by ranked-choice
13 voting, the person who receives a plurality of the votes cast for election to any office, as
14 long as there is at least one vote cast for that office, is elected to that office, except that a
15 write-in candidate must also comply with section 722‑A.
16Sec. 15. 21-A MRSA §723-A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §§1 to 4, is repealed.
17Sec. 16. 21-A MRSA §737-A, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 2019, c. 320, §16, is
18 further amended to read:
19 A candidate who is the apparent loser and who desires a recount must file with the
20 Secretary of State a written request for a recount within 5 business days after the election,
21 except that in an election determined by ranked‑choice voting, only a candidate who
22 received one of the top 3 rankings at the end of the penultimate round of ranked‑choice
23 counting may request a recount. The recount is held under the supervision of the Secretary
24 of State, who shall allow the candidate's representatives or counsel to recount the ballots.
25 The candidate may not act as a counter of ballots.
26Sec. 17. 21-A MRSA §801, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §5, is
27 repealed.
28Sec. 18. 21-A MRSA §803, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §6, is amended
29 to read:
301. Duties. Except when the National Popular Vote for President Act governs the
31 appointment of presidential electors, as soon as possible after the presidential electors are
32 chosen, the Governor shall send a certificate of the determination of the electors to the
33 Archivist of the United States under state seal. The certificate must state the names of the
34 electors and the number of votes each candidate for President received statewide and for
35 each congressional district in the final round of tabulation under section 723‑A. The
36 Governor shall deliver 6 certificates under state seal to the electors before the day
37 established by federal law for the meeting of electors.
38Sec. 19. 21-A MRSA §803, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 628, §6, is
39 amended to read:
40 A. As soon as possible after the canvass of the presidential count under section 723‑A,
41 subsection 7 is determined electors are chosen, the Governor shall send a certificate of
42 determination containing the names of the electors and the statewide number of votes
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43 for each presidential slate that received votes in the final round to the Archivist of the
44 United States under state seal. This final round vote is deemed to be the determination
45 of the vote in the State for the purposes of section 1304.
4 As used in this paragraph, "final round" means the round that ends with the result
5 described in section 723‑A, subsection 7, paragraph C, subparagraph (1).
6Sec. 20. 21-A MRSA §805, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 628, §7, is further
7 amended to read:
82. Presidential electors. Except as provided in subsection 2-A, the presidential
9 electors at large shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates
10 who received the largest number of votes in the State according to the ranked‑choice
11 method of counting votes described in section 723‑A. The presidential electors of each
12 congressional district shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential
13 candidates who received the largest number of votes in each respective congressional
14 district according to the ranked‑choice method of counting votes described in section
15723‑A.
16SUMMARY
17 This bill repeals the laws governing ranked-choice voting in:
18 1. Primary elections for the offices of President of the United States, United States
19 Senator, United States Representative to Congress, Governor, State Senator and State
20 Representative;
21 2. General and special elections for the offices of United States Senator and United
22 States Representative to Congress; and
23 3. General elections for presidential electors.
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