Maine GOP federal suit against RCV is a bullshit SCAM. Please help win YES ON ONE in June.
So now the Maine GOP thinks it is a like a single person and that its party rules can override state law. They have asked for a federal court injunction against the Secretary of State for using RCV in THEIR primary election in June now that at their convention they decided at this last minute to change their rules to insist that plurality voting be their primary system. This is such a load of SHIT on so many levels. It is a bullshit SHAM as they continue to try to attack Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). I don't think it will fly. Here is why:
First, RCV for the primaries in June is state law, period, as just affirmed by the State Supreme Court. I don't see their party rules overriding this state law, which was passed by referendum with a good many votes from Republicans as well a D's, I's, and Greens.
The Sec. of State is charged by the constitution and by statute with running elections, with the help of the local governments, and these elections are paid for with state funds. Does anyone really think the Maine GOP is going to pay for their own primary? And also, if courts say a party can have their own system as long as they pay for it, then are they going to want to design the ballot, determine how counting is done, etc. etc.? That could be next if they are going to be paying for it. Does that mean new laws, changes to the state constitution, etc.?
Next, their lawsuit says their federal civil rights under the federal constitution are being violated if they can't choose their own method of nominating their candidates. But a political party is not a person. And as long as it is a fair system that applies to everyone equally, then I don't see them having a federal rights case.
Next, federal courts have said that RCV is legal. One case comes out of San Francisco when their RCV law was challenged. Both the district and appellate federal courts said RCV was federally constitutional in that case. Granted, that was a general election and not a primary, but we do know that RCV is federally legal and is in fact used in a number of states at different levels along with traditional runoff voting methods.
If you really want to sock it to the Maine GOP and shut them the hell up, VOTE YES ON ONE IN JUNE AND TAKE FIVE FRIENDS WITH YOU. Also please help the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting with phone banks starting very soon, signs, donations, letters to the editor, etc. Winning YES ON ONE in June means sending a strong message that RCV will be law, period, and to stop messing the ALL of our referendums.
** Also, in 2007 Five Republicans co-sponsored an RCV bill. So this partisanship about RCV is just a load of sheer bullshit.