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Maine Majority Vote for Governor and State Legislators Amendment (2019)
| Maine Majority Vote for Governor and State Legislators Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2019 | |
| Topic Elections and campaigns | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Maine Majority Vote for Governor and State Legislators Amendment was not on the ballot in Maine as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2019.
The ballot measure would have required a majority vote, rather than a plurality vote, for a candidate to be elected governor, state representative, or state senator in a general election.[1]
Overview
In Maine, ranked-choice voting was used for congressional elections as of 2019; however, plurality voting, also known as first-past-the-post voting, was used for gubernatorial and state legislative elections.
In 2016, voters approved Question 5, which enacted ranked-choice voting for congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative elections. In April 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion that ranked-choice voting was unconstitutional for gubernatorial and state legislative elections because the constitution required that these candidates receive a plurality vote, not a majority vote.
In October 2017, the Maine State Legislature approved legislation to (1) postpone the enactment of ranked-choice voting until December 1, 2021, if a constitutional amendment was passed to change vote requirements or (2) repeal ranked-choice voting if a constitutional amendment was not passed before December 1, 2021. Signatures were collected for a veto referendum to overturn most of the bill's provisions, which appeared on the ballot as Question 1 in June 2018. Voters approved Question 1, thus repealing the legislature's bill and enacting ranked-choice voting for congressional elections, but not gubernatorial and state legislative elections.
Sen. Justin Chenette (D-31) introduced a constitutional amendment during the 2019 legislative session to require a majority vote, rather than a plurality vote, for gubernatorial and state legislative elections.[1] The amendment's changes to the state constitution would have allowed the legislature to enact ranked-choice voting for gubernatorial and state legislative elections.
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Maine Constitution
The measure would have amended Article IV and Article V of the Maine Constitution.[1]
Sponsors
The following officials sponsored the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:[1]
- Sen. Justin Chenette (D-31)
- Sen. Benjamin Chipman (D-37)
- Sen. Troy Dale Jackson (D-1)
- Sen. Louis Luchini (D-7)
- Sen. David Miramant (D-12)
- Rep. Kent Ackley (Common Sense Independent-82)
- Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D-11)
- Rep. Christopher Kessler (D-32)
- Rep. Chloe Maxmin (D-88)
- Rep. Andrew McLean (D-27)
- Rep. Sarah Pebworth (D-133)
- Rep. Deane Rykerson (D-1)
- Rep. Charlotte Warren (D-84)
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Maine Constitution
In Maine, a two-thirds vote is required in one legislative session of the Maine State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 101 votes in the Maine House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Maine Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
The constitutional was introduced as Legislative Document 1196 (LD 1196) during the 2019 legislative session. LD 1196 did not receive a vote before the legislature adjourned on June 20, 2019.
See also
External links
Amendment
Footnotes
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State of Maine Augusta (capital) |
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