Did You Know You’re Not Required to Use Ranked Choice Voting in Maine?

It's hard to talk about elections, and somehow not get into politics.

Here's the thing, I don't really care who anyone votes for, so long as you just simply fulfill your civic duty by voting. But I've never been one to look at anyone and tell them who they should vote for. I certainly have no appreciation for anyone that tries to do it to me, so I'd never do it to anyone else.

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But it's certainly been a hot-button issue in Maine the last few years, concerning how people vote. Ranked choice voting in Maine has been a bone of contention among all kinds of people. But there is one misconception about RCV that's super easy to fix, and it's spelled out clear as day at Maine.gov.

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A lot of people think they have to fill out the whole ballot...

There's a lot of chitchat on social media, clearly indicating that a lot of people think you have to fill out your ballot completely, with all RCV ovals filled, or your ballot won't count. This is just simply not true. The state makes it very clear that you can just vote for one person, and no one else, if that's what you want. Right from the state's website:

...If you only want to vote for one candidate in a ranked-choice race, the ballot instructs that you mark only the first-choice oval for your candidate...

It's your ballot, so do with it as you please.

If you have questions beyond that one, the state has a whole FAQ section that spells out most of the questions that would generally come up. It explains what it is, how it works, all that sort of thing. It even explains why we use it in some elections, but not in others. Which is another popular question.

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At the end of the day, it just comes back to the basic premise of making sure to vote. The only way your candidate can win is if you actually cast a vote. It's true, not everyone in Maine is fond of RCV, but it is what it is. Don't skip the booth, just because you don't like the paper.