Maine Legislation
Establishes Study on Feasibility of IRV
On 4/1/04, the Maine Legislature passed LD 212, a resolution
requiring the Secretary of State to study the feasibility of using IRV in Maine
elections.
As passed and signed by the governor, the resolve directs the Secretary to
report his findings to the Legislature by January 15, 2005. The report must
include summaries of existing implementation of IRV in the US and abroad, the
benefits and drawbacks of IRV, the feasibility of implementing IRV, and the
availability of federal resources to aid in the implementation of IRV.
The bill that passed was an amended version of LD 212. The original LD 212 would
have imposed IRV in all of Maine's federal races, statewide races, and state
legislative races, and it would have allowed local governments to impose IRV in
local elections. A fiscal analysis of the original bill indicated that the
Secretary of State estimated a high cost for the bill. After the original bill
was referred to the House Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs, the Committee
amended the bill to turn it into only a feasibility study.
In full, the bill's text read as follows:
April 1, 2004
Resolve, Directing the Secretary of State To Study the Feasibility of Instant
Run-off Voting
Sec. 1. Secretary of State to study feasibility of instant run-off voting.
Resolved: That the Secretary of State shall conduct a thorough study of the
feasibility of establishing instant run-off voting in the State. The Secretary
of State may consult with individuals or organizations that advocate for the
implementation of instant run-off voting and those that oppose the
implementation of instant run-off voting in the State during the course of the
study. The Secretary of State shall submit a report to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over election matters by
January 15, 2005. That report must include a summary of existing instant run-off
voting systems in the United States and other nations, the benefits and
drawbacks of instant run-off voting, the feasibility of implementing such a
system for the conduct of elections in the State and any federal resources that
may be available to fund the implementation of instant run-off voting in the
State.
2003 ME H.P. 171 (SN)
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