Seriously. How The Hell Does Ranked-Choice Voting in Maine Work?

After much back and forth it looks like ranked-choice voting will be used in Maine starting with the June Primary season. Remember, we voted for this ranked-choice thing in the last election? Yeah, me neither. But after learning about it, I think it's a cool idea! OK, what IS ranked-choice voting? According to the Maine Secretary of State:

"Ranked-choice voting, sometimes called “instant run-off voting,” allows voters to choose their candidates in order of preference, by marking candidates as their first, second, third, and subsequent choices. The votes are tabulated in rounds, with the lowest-ranked candidates eliminated in each round until there are only two candidates left. The one who is determined to have received the majority of the votes (more than 50%) in the final round is declared the winner. It is different from our previous method of voting, in which voters choose only one candidate for each office and the winner is determined by plurality (whoever gets the most votes)."

Anyhoo, the Secretary of State, Matt Dunlap, is doing a bang up job to get us all up to speed on how it works Here's a fun animated video to explain the dealio. I'm glad it's animated or they might have lost me 90 seconds in.

Still confused? Well, the State of Maine is putting on several seminars and Facebook live events in the next few weeks. It's an outreach tour! Check them out.

More FAQ's from the Secretary of State