Tag: RCV

Maine Currents 12/6/18

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Studio Engineer: John Greenman

Ranked Choice Voting in Maine: Bruce Poliquin’s legal challenges to the process, and what would be involved in extending RCV to statewide races.

A call-in show discussion of yesterday’s hearing on Poliquin et al’s case in the US Superior Court in Bangor, and where things could go from here.

Guests:

Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of Democracy Forum here on WERU. Reading from their mission statement: “The League of Women Voters of Maine is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.” They endorsed RCV back in 2011 and have been working to educate the public about how it works.

John Brautigam, Senior Advisor and Counsel for the League of Women Voters of Maine, as well as Former Assistant Attorney General and State Representative (2004-2008).

Kathleen McQuaid, Professor of Political Science Emeritus with a PH.D. in Political Science from Temple University. Member Hancock County Democrats, and a supporter of adopting RCV for all levels of elections both here in Maine and nationally.

Kyle Bailey, Campaign Manager for the Yes On 1 and Yes On 5 campaigns to win and protect Maine’s Ranked Choice Voting election law

Amy Fried, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine.

Attorney Kim Tucker, Employed by the Florida attorney general during the Bush/Gore election crisis and helped draft their Supreme Court brief

Listen to the award-winning Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of each month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and www.weru.org

Democracy Forum 4/20/18

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine  
Engineer: Amy Browne

Ranked Choice Voting: How Will it Work In Maine

-How ranked choice voting is moving forward for the June primary
-What the Secretary of State is planning
-What voters need to know as they head for the polls.

Guests:
John Brautigam, a public interest attorney, senior adviser and strategist to the project, Maine Uses Ranked Choice Voting. www.mainecleanelections.org/who
Grace Ramsey, deputy outreach director for FairVote, a national electoral reform advocacy group. www.fairvote.org/grace_ramsey

To learn more about this topic:

Maine Uses Ranked Choice Voting
Fair Vote
League of Women Voters of Maine

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:

Starr Gilmartin
Maggie Harling
Linda Hoskins
Sheila Kirby
Ann Luther
Maryann Ogonowski
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

Maine Currents 6/6/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Will Maine’s New Ranked Choice Voting Law Survive the State Legislature?

The Ranked Choice Voting law passed by Maine voters in November may soon be repealed by the legislature, based on a word that was changed in the state constitution back in the 1800s. The word “plurality” was substituted for “majority” after a contentious gubernatorial race in 1880. As a result, some races in the state can be (and often are) won by candidates who have the support of far less than a majority of the voters. The court’s opinion pertains to only some of the races that would be covered by the new ranked choice voting law. The remaining races could also be conducted via ranked choice voting if the state constitution were amended to read “majority” again rather than plurality. But some in the state legislature are taking the opportunity to throw out the new law entirely – and according to an analysis by Michael Shepard in today’s Bangor Daily News (bangordailynews.com/2017/06/06/the-point/maine-lawmakers-have-five-options-on-ranked-choice-voting-signs-point-to-repeal/), they may succeed, as some Democrats are considering voting with the Republicans.

On Friday a public hearing was held on 2 competing bills- LD1624 which proposes to amend the state constitution to allow implementation of ranked choice voting, and LD1625 which would repeal the new ranked choice voting law altogether. The hearing drew an overflow crowd to the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and testimony lasted more than 4 hours. Not a single member of the public spoke in support of overturning ranked choice voting. We’re going to listen in on some of the testimony today- as much as we can squeeze into an hour.

UPDATE: As we went to air work sessions for these bills were posted. They will take place on Thursday, June 8th at 1pm. FMI: legislature.maine.gov/bills/phwksched.html?CODE=VLA&snum=128


Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org