In 2019 Maine became the first state to adopt Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for presidential elections. Fifty years earlier Maine abandoned statewide, winner-take-all election of all of its presidential electors. Since then, Maine has appointed two presidential electors by a statewide popular vote and one from each of its two congressional districts. (CD+2) This made it possible for Donald Trump to capture one electoral vote in Maine in 2016 while Hillary Clinton won the other three. If these two features had been combined in the 1992 election it is possible that Bill Clinton would have won each of Maine's two district-based electors while Ross Perot would have won the two electors chosen on a statewide basis. This demonstrates that the combination of RCV with CD+2 provides an additional pathway for a state to split its electoral votes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramsonPaul R., AldrichJohn H., PaolinoPhil, and RohdeDavid W.. 1995. “Third-Party and Independent Candidates in American Politics: Wallace, Anderson, and Perot.” Political Science Quarterly, 110(3): 349–367. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/2152568>.
2.
Alaska Stat., § 15.30.010. (2021)
3.
AlvarezR. Michael and JonathanNagler.1995. “Economics, Issues and the Perot Candidacy: Voter Choice in the 1992 Presidential Election.” American Journal of Political Science, 39(3): 714–744. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/2111651>.
An Act to Implement Ranked-choice Voting for Presidential Primary and General Elections in Maine. 2019. 2019 Me. Laws Chap. 85. Now codified as Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 21-A, § 1-27-C(D)-(E) (2020).
BramsSteven J. and SamuelMerrill III.1994. “Would Ross Perot Have Won the 1992 Presidential Election under Approval Voting?.” PS: Political Science and Politics, 27(1): 39–44. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/420456>.
Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions, Department of the Secretary of State, State of Maine. 2018a. “November 6, 2018—General Election—November 6, 2018—General Election —Non-ranked-choice offices Tabulation of Votes State Senate.” <https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/results/results18.html#Nov6>.
FishburnPeter C. and Steven JBrams.1983. “Paradoxes of Preferential Voting.” Mathematics Magazine, 56(4): 207–214. <https://doi.org/10.2307/2689808>.
19.
GillespieKatherine, LevanCarrie, and MaiselL. Sandy, Association“Ranked Choice Voting in Maine: Were the Critics' Fears Justified?” (paper prepared for delivery at the annual meeting of the New England Political Science, 2019). Copy on file with the author provided by Professor Maisel, Nov. 19,2022.
In re Op. of the Justices, 162 A.3d 188 (Me. 2017)
22.
LacyDean and Barry CBurden.1999. “The Vote-Stealing and Turnout Effects of Ross Perot in the 1992 U.S. Presidential Election.” American Journal of Political Science, 43(1): 233–255. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/2991792>.
LePagePaul.2018. “I've Signed Off On the CD2 Election Result as It's No Longer in Federal Court. Ranked Choice Voting Didn't Result in a True Majority as Promised-Simply a Plurality Measured Differently. It Didn't Keep Big Money Out of Politics & Didn't Result in a More Civil Election.” December 28, 1:58PM. <https://twitter.com/Governor_LePage/status/1078726890746191872>.
National Archives and Records Administration. 2022. “Electoral College: Frequently Asked Questions.” National Archives and Records Administration. <https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/faq>.
PotthoffRichard F. and Michael CMunger.2005. “Voter Uncertainty Can Produce Preferences with More Than One Peak, but Not Preference Cycles: A Clue to the Fate of Ross Perot?.” The Journal of Politics, 67(2): 429–453. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2005.00290.x>.
