Maine State Legislators are considering a Bill that every Mainer who was Disappointed in 2016.
L.D. 1083 will serve state Elections in 2020 in Three Important ways:
- First, it will move Maine from a Presidential Caucus to a Primary State.
- Second, it will Adopt Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) for the Presidential Primary.
- Third, it will Expand Ranked-Choice Voting for use in the General Election for President.
In recent years, the Faith of Many Americans in our Electoral Integrity has been Shaken:
- Shameless Gerrymandering.
- The Crosscheck Voter Registration Program, which baselessly Purges Legitimate Voters.
- Wild Distribution of Provisional Ballots at the Polls which, Unbeknownst to Most Voters, are Not Required to be Counted, and very often Aren’t.
Although gleefully described by some as “bare-knuckle democracy,” Caucuses actually Disenfranchise Massive Numbers of Voters. At Caucuses, you must set Aside Hours to Show Up at a specified Time and stay for Hours to Argue Publicly for your Candidates.
Many Voters Simply do Not have the Time to Give. Meanwhile, few if any, Venues Exist that can hold a Fraction of the Voters who would easily be Accommodated at Multiple Polling Stations.
It is Time for the Maine Legislature to demonstrate a lot more Respect for Voters. Replacing Caucuses with Primaries is a Solid Start. Employing RCV in Presidential Primary and General Elections is another Worthy Step.
RCV worked Extremely Well in the 2018 Midterms; in addition, it acted as an Antidote to the Vicious Partisanship that has been Poisoning U.S. Politics for years.
It turns out that Candidates hesitate to Lose those Important Second-Choice Votes by Insulting their Competitors, so Mainers were Freed from the usual Assault of Negative Campaign Advertising.
Expanding RCV to the Presidential Election is a Common-Sense and Easily Executed Next Step in bringing Electoral Process in line with the Needs of the People.
A Democracy is only as Strong as its Citizens’ Belief in it. L.D. 1083 will Help Rebuild belief and Respect in Maine Elections, and it should be Passed.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
