Overview
- The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, in a unanimous advisory opinion Monday, said LD 1666 to apply ranked-choice voting to governor and legislative general elections would violate the state Constitution.
- The court said the Constitution requires winners in those races to be chosen by a simple plurality and does not allow extra tabulations based on ranked ballots.
- The ruling keeps ranked-choice voting in place for party primaries, congressional races and presidential elections, and says expanding it to state general elections would require a two‑thirds vote in both chambers and approval by voters.
- Attorney General Aaron Frey urged the court to reject LD 1666 despite many Democrats backing expansion, while Republican leaders praised the decision as a defense of the Constitution.
- The opinion followed a sequence in which the bill passed in 2025, Governor Janet Mills raised constitutional doubts, the Senate recalled it, and lawmakers sought guidance that echoes the court’s 2017 view against using ranked-choice voting in state general elections.