Judge: Ranked-Choice Voting Repeal Qualifies For Maine November Ballot

A Superior Court judge has ruled that the campaign to repeal ranked-choice voting gathered enough signatures to place the people's veto on the November ballot. But the fate of the repeal effort backed by the Maine Republican Party remains uncertain.

Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap had previously disqualified nearly 1,000 signatures in the GOP effort to overturn the state's ranked-choice voting law that applies to the contest for president.

But Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Thomas McKeon has ruled that Dunlap's decision to invalidate the signatures was wrong.

The ruling paves the way for Maine voters to consider ranked-choice voting for the third time in four years.

But time is running out. Dunlap could appeal the ruling to the Maine Supreme Court and the deadline for state ballots to be printed is Friday.

"We said we would not stop fighting until the Secretary of State's incorrect decision was overturned," says Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage, in a written statement. "Now we are on to November and to...restore the principle of one person, one vote."

Calls to the Maine Secretary of State's Office were not immediately returned.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative and originally published on Maine Public Radio.