“What is ranked-choice voting?”
A very bad idea. We lost a republican congressional seat in Maine last year due to this crap.
“A very bad idea. We lost a republican congressional seat in Maine last year due to this crap.”
Wouldn’t it work both ways, for or against Dems?
I live in Maine’s Second Congressional District.
Democratic challenger Jared Golden, a state rep from Lewiston and former Marine, unseated Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin, even though Poliquin received 2,500 MORE votes.
Neither major candidate received 50.1% of the vote in the first round. There were two minor candidated on the ballot, both liberals, who received 8% of the vote collectively.
The voters who chose these two minor candidates had their second choice counted in the electronic run off, and most of them went to the democratic challenger, Jared Golden. After the second round was counted, Golden had more than 50.1% of the so-called vote.
There were court challenges, which the GOP incumbent lost. Rather than drag it on and leave the district without a representative, Bruce Poliquin, the GOP challenger, conceded the election.
The courts ruled that Rank Choice Voting can not apply to statewide elections in Maine, such as governor, because the Maine Constitution specifically mentions a “plurality” of votes, which the Federal Constitution does not.
Meanwhile, candidate Trump won the Second District in 2016 by 10 points.
Madame Hillary won the statewide vote by 2.9%, largely because of the liberal First District in the southeast corner of the state....20% of the land mass.
The Second District covers 80% of Maine....27,000 square miles, the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi in area.
When I voted in 2018, I picked only one candidate for Congress....I had no second choice. It’s called “bullet” voting.
You didn't exactly lose—the Republican got the most votes—then lost. :(