“Jeez louise, why hasn’t anyone tested this in court?!”
I agree with you that “ranked choice” (which they used to call “instant runoff”) violates the U.S. Constitution by giving certain voters more than one vote. If Maine wants to make sure that its congressmen receive 50%+1 of the vote, then the state should have a runoff between the top-two finishers *at a later date* and with *every registered voter being allowed to vote*.
It WAS tested in court, and rank choice voting was found to violate the Maine Constitutional....which mentions a plurality of votes...but not the U.S. Constitution, which does not mention a plurality, according to the judge who heard the case earlier in the year.
Therefore, rank choice was not used for governor, or any of the races for the Maine House or the Maine Senate, but was used in the U.S. Senate race and the two U.S. House races.
In the U.S. Senate race, with Angus King running for re-election....he received more than 50.1% of the vote and the 1st congressional district race....with Shelley Pingree running for re-election....she also received more than 50.1% of the vote so rank choice voting did not kick in.