The Ballot Bulletin: November 2017

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In The Ballot Bulletin, Ballotpedia tracks developments in election policy at the federal, state, and local levels. To shed light on these developments, each issue will include an in-depth feature, such as an interview or event timeline. We will also discuss recent prominent events relating to electoral and primary systems, redistricting, and voter provisions.

This month's edition: This month, we'll bring you up to speed on recent developments surrounding the implementation of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Maine (which adopted RCV via a statewide ballot measure in 2016) and Memphis (which adopted RCV via charter amendment in 2008). We'll also get you caught up on the status of state legislative redistricting in North Carolina.

Maine State Legislature delays implementation of ranked-choice voting, sets auto-repeal for 2021 if constitution is not amended

See also: Electoral systems in Maine

• What's the story? After failing to approve bills addressing Maine Question 5, which enacted a statewide system of ranked-choice voting (RCV), during the regular 2017 legislative session, the Maine State Legislature approved a bill to delay implementation of RCV during its one-day special session on October 23, 2017. The bill, LD 1646, was introduced in the Maine House of Representatives by Rep. Kent Ackley (Common Sense Independent). The original version of LD 1646 proposed delaying RCV implementation pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment that would allow for the use of RCV. Rep. Kenneth Fredette (R) motioned the House to amend LD 1646 to set a deadline of December 1, 2021, and to provide for the repeal of Question 5 if an amendment is not approved by that date. The House voted 73 to 65, with 12 members absent and one member excused, to accept the amendment. The House then voted 68 to 63, with 20 members not voting, to pass the amended LD 1646. Rep. Ackley, who sponsored the original version, voted against the amended LD 1646. The Maine State Senate voted 19 to 16 to approve the amended LD 1646.
• What brought us here?
  • November 8, 2016: Voters approved Question 5, which provided for the use of RCV in both primary and general elections for United States Senators, United States Representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives. The initiative was approved by a vote of 52.12 percent to 47.88 percent. This made Maine the first state to adopt RCV at the state level.
  • February 2, 2017: The state Senate voted 24 to 10 to ask the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to review the initiative and issue an advisory opinion on its constitutionality.
  • May 23, 2017: The Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous advisory opinion finding that the law violated the state constitution.
  • May and June 2017: In response to this finding, state lawmakers introduced two separate bills: LD 1624 and LD 1625. The former proposed amending the state constitution to provide for ranked-choice voting. The latter proposed to repeal the law. Both bills ultimately failed to clear the legislature.
  • June 29, 2017: Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (D) said that his office would prepare to implement ranked-choice voting systems in Maine for the 2018 elections.
• What are the reactions and what comes next?
  • Rep. Charlotte Warren (D), who voted against LD 1646, said, "I'm flabbergasted, frankly. What I have heard from constituents, what it feels like to them is that over and over and over we don't honor their will. And we did that again today by this vote." Meanwhile, Rep. Kenneth Fredette (R), who voted for LD 1646, said, "The Constitution right now allows for a plurality, which means those who get the most voters are allowed to serve. We've had that for a long time. ... I think the system works and I just don't support this particular idea."
  • LD 1646 requires Gov. Paul LePage's (R) signature to become law. On October 27, 2017, Kyle Bailey, campaign manager for the Maine Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, sent an email message to supporters announcing that the group had filed the paperwork to pursue a veto referendum: "We will have 90 days to collect 61,123 valid signatures to put a People’s Veto on the June 2018 ballot. The People's Veto will freeze Maine's Ranked Choice Voting law in place and require its implementation for the June 2018 primary election for state and federal offices. We are hopeful that Secretary of State Matt Dunlap will approve the petition without delay, so the 300 Maine citizens who've already signed up to collect signatures on Election Day will be able to do so."

Memphis City Council pursues ordinance to force repeal vote on ranked-choice voting for council elections

See also: Electoral systems in Tennessee

• What's the story? On October 17, 2017, according to The Commercial Appeal, the Memphis City Council voted unanimously to "instruct its attorney … to draft an ordinance that, if approved, would force another referendum vote in 2018 on whether to repeal" ranked-choice voting (RCV) for city council elections. In 2008, Memphians approved a charter amendment that provided for the use of RCV in council elections, but RCV has yet to be implemented. On July 20, 2017, the Shelby County Election Commission announced plans to implement RCV in Memphis beginning in October 2019, which precipitated the council's October vote.
• What comes next? If the council adopts the ordinance, a referendum vote on the implementation of RCV will occur in 2018. If voters opt to repeal RCV, council elections will continue under the existing format (i.e., council members from districts 1-7 must win a majority of votes cast in order to be elected; if no candidate wins an outright majority of votes cast, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters). If the council does not adopt the repeal ordinance, or if voters vote against repeal, RCV will be implemented in 2019.
• What's going on in the rest of the country? The map below identifies states in which electoral systems or primary systems legislation has been introduced in 2017. A darker shade of red indicates a greater number of relevant bills. For full details about electoral systems legislation, see this article. For full details about primary systems legislation, see this article.

Electoral systems legislation as of October 31, 2017

Primary systems legislation as of October 31, 2017

Federal court appoints special master to assist in evaluating, possibly redrawing North Carolina state legislative district maps

See also: Redistricting in North Carolina

• What's the story? On October 26, 2017, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued an order appointing Nate Persily as a special master "to assist the Court in further evaluating and, if necessary, redrawing" state legislative district maps enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina on August 31, 2017, as the result of a federal court order. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an earlier district court decision finding that 28 state legislative districts had been subject to an illegal racial gerrymander. The district court then ordered state lawmakers to draft remedial maps for use in the 2018 election cycle. These maps are the subject of the district court's October 26 order.
  • A special master is an individual appointed by a court to carry out some action on the court's behalf. Nate Persily is a law professor at Stanford University.
• What comes next? In its October 26 order, the district court indicated that the redrawn maps for Senate Districts 21 and 28 and House Districts 21, 36, 37, 40, 41, 57, and 105 "either fail to remedy the identified constitutional violation or are otherwise legally unacceptable." The court did not provide a precise deadline in its order; it did, however, indicate that the "upcoming filing period for the 2018 election cycle" factored into its decision to appoint a special master. On October 30, Republican lawmakers filed a motion objecting to the appointment of Persily as special master; they argue that there is ample time for the state legislature to make any court-ordered amendments to the maps before the 2018 candidate filing period. GOP lawmakers also argue that Persily might be biased because he "has a history of commenting negatively on North Carolina districting matters and working on districting matters with organizations who are allied with the plaintiffs in this case."
  • The candidate filing period in North Carolina is scheduled to begin on February 12, 2018, and end on February 28, 2018. All 50 Senate seats and all 120 House seats will be up for election in North Carolina in 2018. Currently, the GOP holds veto-proof supermajorities in both the House and Senate. In order to break these supermajorities, Democrats would need to pick up four seats in the House (assuming that a current Republican vacancy is filled before the 2018 election) and six in the Senate.
• What's going on in the rest of the country? The map below identifies states in which redistricting legislation has been introduced in 2017. A darker shade of red indicates a greater number of relevant bills. For full details about redistricting legislation, see this article.

Redistricting legislation as of October 31, 2017

See also

• Election policy on Ballotpedia
• Electoral systems legislation at the state and city levels in the United States, 2017
• Primary systems legislation at the state and city levels in the United States, 2017
• Redistricting legislation at the state and city levels in the United States, 2017
• Federal redistricting legislation in the United States, 2017-2019 (115th Congress)