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On July 15, 2020 Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap ruled that a "People's Veto" referendum, advocated by the Maine Republican Party to repeal ranked choice voting in  presidential elections, had narrowly failed to qualify for the ballot.  Maine Republicans took the matter to court.  On Aug. 24 Superior Court Judge Thomas McKeon ruled that Dunlap had erred in not counting some signatures, but on Sept. 22 the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld Dunlap's ruling (>).  If the referendum had qualified, ranked choice voting would not have been used in the 2020 presidential contest.
See: Scott Thistle. "Maine secretary of state rejects petition to repeal ranked-choice voting."  Portland Press-Herald, July 15, 2020.

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Maine GOP
September 24, 2020

Repeal RCV Effort Continues

Maine Republican Party Chair, Dr. Demi Kouzounas, released the following statement regarding it’s effort to Repeal Ranked Choice Voting in Maine’s Presidential Elections:

“We are pursuing a stay with the Maine Judicial Supreme Court with the intent of taking our case, and the rights of tens of thousands of Mainers, to the Supreme Court, if necessary, as soon as possible.” – Chair Dr. Demi Kouzounas

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Maine GOP
July 21, 2020


Friends,

In the interest of keeping you informed, today our team is scheduled to begin scanning petitions at the Secretary of State’s office in order to mount the challenge to ensure thousands of signatures of registered Maine voters that were certified by their town clerks are counted toward our Repeal RCV effort.

Unfortunately, this process has been delayed by the Secretary of State, but we anticipate that if we can get them scanned and reviewed today, we will have time to do the proper review before the deadline.

Under state law, we have ten days to file a legal challenge to ensure these signatures are counted. The Secretary of State made his decision last Wednesday at 5PM, providing us no advanced notice.

That same evening we said we wanted to get in and scan the signatures.

Here we are.

While the state has wasted tens of thousands of dollars on other processes, we have been waiting and assembling our team.

I just wanted you to know what is going on now, and to assure you we are going to fight to see that these certified signatures that were thrown out by Secretary of State Dunlap are counted.

That process, while delayed, begins today.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Doctor Demi Kouzounas
Chair
Maine GOP 

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Maine GOP
July 15, 2020

Maine GOP Statement on Status of People’s Veto to Repeal Ranked Choice Voting

AUGUSTA, ME– Maine Republican Party Chair, Dr. Demi Kouzounas, issued the following statement regarding the Secretary of State’s Decision to reject the People’s Veto of RCV in Presidential Elections.

“Let me be clear. This fight is not over.” said Chair Dr. Demi Kouzounas. “It is abundantly clear that the Secretary of State used every trick in the book to throw out enough signatures through a litany of technicalities to keep this question off the ballot.

The voters who signed these petitions to Repeal Ranked Choice voting deserve to be heard, not silenced through bureaucratic technicalities. These voters were from across the political spectrum and included Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. We were given no notice of this decision before it was announced by the Secretary of State, but this statement is our notice that we will fight to make sure every Maine voter is heard and every legitimate signature is counted.”

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Maine GOP
June 15, 2020

MAINE GOP ANNOUNCES REPEAL RCV CAMPAIGN COLLECTED MORE THAN 72,000 SIGNATURES TO PROTECT ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE IN MAINE’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

-More than 72,000 Mainers Signed Petitions to Repeal Ranked Choice Voting in Maine’s Presidential Elections
-Collected well beyond minimum required signatures when faced with nearly insurmountable odds
-Only had 64 days of signature gathering instead of what is normally a 90-day period, collecting more than 1,100 signatures per day
-Forbidden to knock on doors, no large gatherings due to pandemic, followed social distancing rules
-Experienced political minds calling achievement ‘unprecedented, historic, amazing’
-More than 315 ‘stop & sign’ events in a three week period
-More than 500 volunteers and circulators
-Signatures gathered from more than 450 cities, towns, townships and plantations across all 16 counties – this is nearly every community in the state
-With virtually every other political deadline in Maine extended, Repeal RCV campaign’s deadline was actually shortened by about a month – specifically targeted by Gov. Mills Executive Order on notaries denying campaign same benefits as others

AUGUSTA, ME– While facing nearly insurmountable odds and with forces aligning to thwart Maine GOP efforts to collect the necessary signatures to allow the people of Maine to have their voice heard, the Maine GOP today is announcing that the Repeal RCV campaign is submitting well beyond the required number of signatures to ensure repealing Ranked Choice Voting will be on the ballot in November.

“Collecting more than 72,000+ signatures in the midst of a pandemic and statewide lock-down that greatly reduced our capacity to collect signatures is a historic feat,” said Chair Dr. Demi Kouzounas. “Completing this task with only 64 days of signature gathering is a true testament to the dedication of our team and amazing volunteers and the amount of energy Mainers have to restore the principle of one person, one vote in our election process.”

The coronavirus pandemic, statewide lock-down, early adjournment of the Maine Legislature, and governmental red-tape created major delays in the collecting process, allowing only 64 days of collecting. Despite the odds stacked against them and numerous roadblocks, over 500 circulators across the political spectrum collected signatures from more than 450 Maine cities, towns, and plantations in all 16 Maine counties.

“Major roadblocks in the signature collection process required our team to completely re-invent the signature gathering process. Due to state restrictions, we were forbidden from knocking doors and unlike other people’s veto campaigns, there were no large gatherings,” said Jason Savage, Executive Director of the Maine GOP.

“While other political deadlines were extended to assist campaigns, our deadline was actually cut shorter by a month due to the early adjournment of their legislature. That meant we had to go into overdrive to make sure the voice of the voters was heard.”

In order to collect the required number of signatures while complying with CDC and State regulations, the Maine Republican Party held more than 315 “Stop and Sign” events in a 3 week period, essentially inventing a new signature gathering model and scaling it to unprecedented levels in just days.

With all the burdens and obstacles placed before the campaign, experienced political minds initially called the feat “unachievable”.

Now that the process is complete, many are calling the accomplishment, “unprecedented, historic, and amazing.”

“We are proud of our team for completing the signature collecting process and we are now focused on ensuring the People’s Veto is successful at the ballot box in November,” said Jason Savage.
“The People’s Veto has always been about restoring the sanctity of our election process, preserving the bedrock American principle of ‘one person, one vote’ and ensuring that Ranked Choice Voting does not interfere with Maine’s Presidential elections.”

BACKGROUND:
After Governor Mills allowed the extension of Ranked Choice Voting to the Presidential Election, the Maine Republican Party launched a “People’s Veto” to allow Mainers to have their voice heard and return our Presidential Election to the bedrock American principle of “one person, one vote”.
Maine voters should not be subject to a process that so clearly violates one person, one vote, serves as voter suppression, and puts Maine’s votes for President in question.
Our entire nation and the Presidential election should not be subject to a complicated and time-consuming process that could tear Maine apart at the seams.
The promises supporters of ranked-choice voting made – funded with massive amounts of out-of-state-money, have been proven false:

-RCV is NOT a more fair or equal process. It allows some voters to get multiple votes, while some only get one vote.
-RCV does NOT create majority winners.  In fact some people’s ballots are “exhausted” and thrown out in the counting.
-RCV does NOT make elections more civil or cut down on negative politics.
-RCV does NOT increase participation. In fact, it serves as voter suppression.
-RCV is NOT simple. Maine’s experience shows a much higher rate of voter error and spoiled ballots.
-RCV costs our cities, towns and state more money than traditional elections.
-RCV has already been found unconstitutional in state general elections. Why should we use it anywhere?
By submitting the required number of signatures, the Maine Republican Party has halted the use of Ranked Choice Voting in the 2020 Presidential Election in Maine. The question will be decided on the November ballot.

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The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting
https://www.facebook.com/rcvmaine
June 15, 2020

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Maine Democratic Party

Maine Democratic Party Statement on Republican Attempts to Overturn Ranked Choice Voting for a Third Time

Following the Maine Republican Party’s announcement that they will attempt to overturn Ranked Choice Voting for a third time, Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra issued the following statement:

“Maine people have twice affirmed Ranked Choice Voting through statewide ballot referendums because we value elections that are fairer and more inclusive. Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike report that it’s important elections reflect the will of a majority of voters—exactly what RCV achieves, and what its opponents are trying to undermine.”

Background on Maine People’s Support for Ranked Choice Voting

Exit polling conducted in the 2018 General Election that asked how important it is for a candidate to win a majority (50 percent of votes plus one) in an election, which is precisely what RCV achieves, found that:

• Seven in 10 Democrats (73 percent) and five in 10 Republicans and independents (52 percent) said it was “very important.” 
• When including respondents who said it was “somewhat important," majority support levels rose to nine in 10 Democrats (93 percent), eight in 10 independents (81 percent) and seven in 10 Republicans (72 percent).

Exit polling plus the results of the two previous RCV referendums in 2016 and 2018 paint a clear picture that Mainers support ranked choice voting.

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The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting
Posted by David Farmer 0sc on April 16, 2020

Suit Filed to Protect Ranked-Choice Voting for President

The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting 2020 today filed suit to protect the new state law that adopted ranked-choice voting for the November presidential election.

“Maine voters have spoken on ranked-choice voting twice, but some politicians refuse to listen,” said David Farmer, a spokesperson for The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting. “The Maine Constitution is clear. You cannot use a veto petition on a law that has already taken effect.”

Three Maine voters also joined the lawsuit: Republican Clare Payne of Brooksville, Democrat Phil Steele of Portland, and unenrolled voter Frannie Babb of Sumner.

“Ranked-choice voting for presidential elections is the law of the State of Maine, and the use of the People’s Veto to repeal this law is unconstitutional,” said Clare Payne, a retired attorney and member of the Maine Heritage Policy Center.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Kennebec County Superior Court, the law expanding ranked-choice voting became effective on Jan. 12, 2020. The law expanding ranked-choice voting was passed by the Legislature in 2019 and became law three days after the Legislature returned in January 2020 after Gov. Janet Mills withheld her signature.

The Maine Constitution limits the use of veto petitions to bills that have not yet become law. The ranked-choice voting law was already in force before opponents filed the application for a veto petition. The Constitution provides a different process for changing existing laws.

“While we believe the Secretary of State was operating in good faith and with a commitment to err on the side of caution, we do not believe that this veto petition is constitutional,” Farmer said.

In addition, the lawsuit also contends that the Secretary of State has allowed RCV opponents an inappropriate amount of time to collect signatures, which conflicts with limits on signature gathering for a veto petition.

Payne added, “Two years ago, during one of the coldest winters in decades, I stood outside in subzero temperatures along with Republicans, Democrats and independents across Maine. Together, we collected more than 80,000 signatures in just 88 days for the veto petition that protected ranked-choice voting.”