The Independent View: ME Referendum Petition for RCV has Three Weeks to Go

The Maine Referendum Petition to save Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) now has 55,000 Signatures. It needs 61,123 Valid Signatures, which are due in Three weeks.

In November 2016, Maine Voters overwhelmingly voted to implement RCV. But in October 2017 the Legislature voted to Delay the Law until December 2021 and to Repeal it if the Maine Constitution isn’t Amended to deal with Legal concerns raised by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Those actions by Legislators led to a Citizen Petition drive, which if successful will get a People’s Veto to Restore RCV on the June Ballot. The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting has until Feb. 2nd to submit Signatures to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office.

“When people speak as loudly as they did during the election in 2016 about the importance of their democracy, we need to stand up, take notice and do something about it,” Jon Fishman, a drummer, lyricist, and vocalist for the band Phish said. “It is not OK to ignore the will of the people.”

“His presence speaks to the seriousness of all people wanting a democracy that works,” said Kyle Bailey, Campaign Manager for the Committee on Ranked Choice Voting.

Under RCV, Voters rank Candidates in order of preference. If no one had more than 50% of the vote after the first count, the Candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The process continues until One Candidate achieves a clear Majority and is declared the winner.

Maine’s Constitution calls for Candidates to be Elected by a Plurality, in which the Candidate with the Most Votes Wins, even if it is less than a Majority.

Bailey and Cara Brown-McCormick, the Campaign Treasurer, said Fishman helped collect more than 250 Signatures at Bayside Bowl.

“He (Fishman) contacted us about a week ago and asked how he could help,” Brown-McCormick said. She said Phish recently performed three sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York. “This is really awesome that he came here to help us,” she said.

Fishman said investing his time and energy in a cause that will benefit his family was well worth the effort. He and his wife moved from Vermont to Lincolnville in 2006 and have five children.