Btw, there is a referendum in Maine for 2016 (that is almost certain to reach the ballot) about introducing IRV for all elections.
There were people collecting petitions when I voted in the school budget validation election/special election for city council and school committee in June, and supporters went to my county's Democratic committee meeting and collected some signatures there, so they seem to be pretty well-organized and so I expect it will make it to the ballot. But, ...
My concern is that SCOTUS in its infinite wisdom might decide that IRV violates OMOV somehow.
A bigger issue in Maine is what the Maine Constitution says about elections for various offices. Quoting parts of the
Maine Constitution below, with
boldface from the page I'm coping from but
italics mine for emphasis.
"
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MAINE
2013 ARRANGEMENT...
Article IV.
Part First.
House of Representatives....
Section 5. Election of Representatives; lists of votes delivered forthwith; lists of votes examined by Governor; summons of persons who appear to be elected; lists shall be laid before the House. The meetings within this State for the choice of Representatives shall be warned in due course of law by qualified officials of the several towns and cities 7 days at least before the election, and the election officials of the various towns and cities shall preside impartially at such meetings,
receive the votes of all the qualified electors, sort, count and declare them in open meeting; and a list of the persons voted for shall be formed, with the number of votes for each person against that person's name. Cities and towns belonging to any Representative District shall hold their meetings at the same time in the respective cities and towns; and such meetings shall be notified, held and regulated, the votes received, sorted, counted and declared in the same manner. Fair copies of the lists of votes shall be attested by the municipal officers and the clerks of the cities and towns and the city and town clerks respectively shall cause the same to be delivered into the office of the Secretary of State forthwith. The Governor shall examine the returned copies of such lists and 7 days before the first Wednesday of December biennially, shall issue a summons to such persons
as shall appear to have been elected by a plurality of all votes returned, to attend and take their seats. All such lists shall be laid before the House of Representatives on the first Wednesday of December biennially, and they shall finally determine who are elected.
...
Article IV.
Part Second.
Senate....
Section 3. Election of Senators; lists of votes delivered forthwith. The meetings within this State for the election of Senators shall be notified, held and regulated and the votes received, sorted, counted, declared and recorded,
in the same manner as those for Representatives. Fair copies of the lists of votes shall be attested by the clerks of the cities and towns or other duly authorized officials and sealed up in open meetings and such officials shall cause said lists to be delivered into the office of the Secretary of State forthwith.
Section 4. Lists of votes examined by Governor; summons to persons who appear to be elected. The Governor shall, as soon as may be, examine the copies of such lists, and at least 7 days before the said first Wednesday of December, issue a summons to such persons,
as shall appear to be elected by a plurality of the votes in each senatorial district, to attend that day and take their seats.
Section 5. Determination of Senators elected; procedure for filling vacancies. The Senate shall, on said first Wednesday of December, biennially
determine who is elected by a plurality of votes to be Senator in each district. All vacancies in the Senate arising from death, resignation, removal from the State or like causes, and also vacancies, if any, which may occur because of the failure of any district to elect
by a plurality of votes the Senator to which said district shall be entitled shall be filled by an immediate election in the unrepresented district. The Governor shall issue a proclamation therefor and therein fix the time of such election.
...
Article V.
Part First.
Executive Power.Section 1. Governor. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor.
...
Section 3. Election; votes to be returned to Secretary of State; Secretary of State to lay lists before the Senate and House of Representatives; provision in case of tie. The meetings for election of Governor shall be notified, held and regulated and votes shall be received, sorted, counted and declared and recorded,
in the same manner as those for Senators and Representatives. Copies of lists of votes shall be sealed and returned to the secretary's office in the same manner and at the same time as those for Senators. The Secretary of State for the time being shall, on the first Wednesday after the first Tuesday of January then next, lay the lists returned to the secretary's office before the Senate and House of Representatives to be by them examined, together with the ballots cast if they so elect, and they shall determine the number of votes duly cast for the office of Governor,
and in case of a choice by plurality of all of the votes returned they shall declare and publish the same.
If there shall be a tie between the 2 persons having the largest number of votes for Governor, the House of Representatives and the Senate meeting in joint session, and each member of said bodies having a single vote, shall elect one of said 2 persons
having so received an equal number of votes and the person so elected by the Senate and House of Representatives shall be declared the Governor.
...
Article VI.
Judicial Power....
Section 6. Judges and registers of probate, election and tenure; vacancies. Judges and registers of probate shall be elected by the people of their respective counties,
by a plurality of the votes given in, at the biennial election on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November, and shall hold their offices for 4 years, commencing on the first day of January next after their election. Vacancies occurring in said offices by death, resignation or otherwise, shall be filled by election in manner aforesaid at the November election, next after their occurrence; and in the meantime, the Governor may fill said vacancies by appointment, and the persons so appointed shall hold their offices until the first day of January next after the election aforesaid.
...
Article IX.
General Provisions....
Section 10. Tenure of sheriffs. Sheriffs shall be elected by the people of their respective counties,
by a plurality of the votes given in on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November, and shall hold their offices for 4 years from the first day of January next after their election, unless sooner removed as hereinafter provided. ...
...
Article X.
Additional Provisions....
Section 4. Amendments to Constitution. The Legislature,
whenever 2/3 of both Houses shall deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this Constitution; and when any amendments
shall be so agreed upon, a resolution shall be passed and sent to the selectmen of the several towns, and the assessors of the several plantations, empowering and directing them to notify the inhabitants of their respective towns and plantations, in the manner prescribed by law, at the next biennial meetings in the month of November, or to meet in the manner prescribed by law for calling and holding biennial meetings of said inhabitants for the election of Senators and Representatives, on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November following the passage of said resolve, to give in their votes on the question, whether such amendment shall be made; and if it shall appear that a
majority of the inhabitants voting on the question are in favor of such amendment, it shall become a part of this Constitution.
...
"
(I think Maine) courts have ruled that even if a proposed citizen initiative were clearly unconstitutional, it would have to be voted on unless the Legislature were to enact it. So nothing above would prevent this going to a vote in 2016 if the necessary signatures are gathered. But I have a hard time seeing how people get past the general constitutional language. At the county committee meeting where supporters of this measure were speaking, in response to a my question one of the people (a State Representative from Portland) said that a majority is a plurality, and it is true that a candidate with a majority of votes obviously has a plurality. And it is also true that the constitution doesn't explicitly say that the person elected to these various offices is the person with a plurality of
first place votes, but at the time this language was written (probably the 1880s for Governor but perhaps sooner for other offices, as Maine at one point had a majority requirement for Governor, otherwise the House would pick two candidates and the Senate would pick one of those, but that provision was gotten rid of I'm pretty sure in the 1880's so the plurality language would probably date from that point)... well, the method now known as Instant Runoff Voting or, more recently (and used in this Maine campaign) "Ranked Choice Voting"
had been "invented" but the Legislators who were (I think reinstating) the plurality rule for Governor probably saw the first place vote as the only kind of vote there was and weren't thinking about votes transferring from one candidate to another to maximize the ballot's utility to the voter.
I could say more about my thoughts on IRV, but I've written enough for now and IRV wasn't the main topic of this thread anyway.
