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Judge Hears Arguments On New Lawsuit Targeting Ranked Voting

A federal judge says he will likely rule next week on a new lawsuit targeting Maine's ranked-choice voting.

The lawsuit contends the voting system disenfranchises old and uneducated voters who don't understand how it works and therefore select only a first choice without ranking the rest of the candidates. A Princeton University professor testified Thursday that a "substantial" number of people don't seem to understand the system, while an assistant attorney general said there's no way of knowing why people truncated their ballots.

The voting system allows, but does not require, people to rank candidates candidates from first to last. A candidate who reaches 50% or more in the first round of voting is the winner.á