Ready to use ranked-choice voting (RCV)!? Some races will use RCV for the June 9 primary. Races will include candidates running for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Maine Governor, and Maine Legislature. Learn more at: www.lwvme.org/rcv. RCV information is available in 10 languages.
How does RCV work?
- Voters rank candidates in the order of their preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
- When all the ballots are counted, if one candidate gets more than 50% of the first choice votes, they win.
- If no candidate receives more than 50% of first choice votes, the candidate with fewest votes is considered defeated.
- Voters who ranked the defeated candidate as their first choice have their votes counted for their second choice.
- This is repeated until a candidate has received more than 50% of the vote.
Why should you rank your vote?
- If your first choice is defeated, your ballot will still count for your next highest choice.
- You can’t hurt your favorite candidate by also ranking the other candidates. Those choices only count if your first choice is defeated.
- You can’t help your favorite candidate by ranking only one candidate. Your first choice will always count if your favorite candidate has not been defeated.
Thanks to the League of Women Voters Maine for this summary of info. For lots more voting info, visit the LWVME at www.lwvme.org.