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Mills Reviewing Ranked-Choice Voting Bill Before Deciding Fate

Gov. Janet Mills says she is carefully reviewing the bill extending ranked-choice voting to presidential primaries and general elections, and that the bill is more complex than it appears.

Mills told reporters in Augusta that there are a number of questions she’d like answered before deciding whether she’ll sign the bill, passed in a one-day special session of the Legislature this month. She says its not yet clear how the selection of presidential electors would work under the new measure, which she says also fails to consider the additional cost of either a primary or general election using ranked-choice voting.

“I’m reading the bill carefully and see how it not only impacts not only the primary but the general election of electors for president, because there is a line in there about how it applies to he election of electors,” she says. “The six other states that are apparently looking at ranked-choice voting are all caucus states. I am not yet aware of any other state looking at it for a primary, a presidential primary.”

Mills says she needs answers to several key questions before deciding her next steps, which could include signing the bill into law or issuing a veto. Republicans generally oppose the measure, so if Mills issues a veto, it would likely not survive.

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.