Last November, the people of Maine approved ranked choice voting at the ballot box. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, and it mitigates the “lesser of two evils” problem that many of us have faced by allowing voters to vote for their favorite candidate without fear (or at least with much less fear) of inadvertently electing their least favorite candidate. Ranked choice voting offers the possibility of loosening the hold of the two major political parties on our electoral system and providing third-party candidates with plausible paths to victory. 

The Maine State Senate has asked the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to declare a “solemn occasion” per Article VI of the Constitution of the State of Maine to consider the constitutionality of ranked choice voting, about which Attorney General Janet Mills and some senators have voiced concerns.

Attorney General Mills has filed a brief arguing that our Constitution “must be amended before such fundamental changes in Maine’s electoral process can occur.”

On the other hand, the League of Women Voters of Maine and Maine Citizens for Clean Elections have filed a brief arguing that “finding that a solemn occasion exists here will set a troubling new precedent allowing this Court to be called upon to declare the constitutionality of enacted laws without the benefit of full litigation.” 

There may be constitutional problems with ranked choice voting — or there may not. It has not yet been challenged in court. The Supreme Judicial Court has never granted a solemn occasion on enacted Maine law, and it has established precedent that “no solemn occasion exists when the Justices are asked to give their opinions on the law which is already in effect.” Precedent also indicates that solemn occasions are not a substitute for decisions made in the course of litigation. 

Ranked choice voting is currently the law in Maine. It is the will of Maine’s people. It may be challenged in court, but that has not yet happened. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap should implement ranked choice voting without delay in time for the 2018 election.

Nathan Davis lives in Rockland