The inaccuracies in Jim Fossel’s Feb. 11 column concerning ranked-choice voting are appalling coming from a person who holds himself out as someone who is knowledgeable about political issues and political candidates in Maine.
His statement that Attorney General Janet Mills tried to kill ranked-choice voting is wrong. What she did was to read the relevant sections of the Maine Constitution that clearly state that elections of state legislators and the governor will be won by the person winning a plurality of the votes. She then wrote a legal opinion stating that ranked-choice voting for those offices is not allowed under the Maine Constitution. It is her job to interpret Maine statutes and the state constitution. Her job is not to give her personal opinion of what she would like the law to be.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court then issued an advisory opinion stating that Mills was correct in her interpretation of the state constitution. The court’s opinion was unanimous. This does not mean that every member of the court is opposed to ranked-choice voting. It means that every member of the court agrees that the clear language of the state constitution prevents ranked-choice voting for those offices where a plurality of votes means a win.
Fossel states that Mills has “shown no inclination” to support ranked-choice voting. That is also wrong. In fact, it is the exact opposite of her position. She has stated that “as governor,” she will propose a constitutional amendment to allow for ranked-choice voting to reflect the will of the people.
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