Maine Court Rules RCV Expansion to State Races Unconstitutional

Attorney General Aaron Frey, a Democrat, sided with Republicans in urging the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to strike down LD 1666; the court agreed unanimously. In an advisory opinion issued April 6, the justices ruled that expanding ranked-choice voting to gubernatorial and state legislative general elections would violate the Maine Constitution, blocking any near-term change to how Maine picks its governor and lawmakers.

The ruling arrives with November's election already in view. Sagadahoc County voters heading to the polls for the 2026 governor's race and legislative contests will cast ballots under the existing plurality system: the candidate with the most votes wins outright, no matter how slim the margin. Under LD 1666, those same ballots would have been redistributed through multiple tabulation rounds until one candidate held a majority. Maine voters first approved that system by referendum in November 2016.

LD 1666, sponsored by Sen. Cameron Reny (D-Bristol), attempted a specific legal workaround: redefining the winner of an RCV contest as the "plurality winner," on the theory that only a voter's final-round ranking constitutes their actual "vote." The Maine Senate voted 20-to-14 to advance the bill, and it cleared initial House votes before being tabled pending the court's ruling. The opinion is technically advisory, but with Gov. Janet Mills already on record against the bill, it is effectively dead.

"Because of the Maine Constitution's language, there are strong and convincing reasons that LD 1666 is unconstitutional, and we conclude that the presumption of constitutionality has been overcome," the justices wrote. Maine's constitution requires the candidate with the most votes to win in a single round of counting. The justices noted that unlike Alaska's constitution, which grants broad legislative authority over elections and which the Alaska Supreme Court found compatible with RCV in August 2024, Maine's constitutional text does not permit the additional tabulation rounds RCV requires.

Not every element of RCV disappears from the calendar. The June 9 gubernatorial primary will still use the system, meaning Republican voters who broadly oppose RCV will again rank candidates to select their nominee, as they did in 2018 and 2022.

Reny, whose Senate District 13 covers most of Lincoln County and the towns of Washington and Windsor, said the ruling would not end his efforts. "Today's decision is not the outcome I hoped for, but it doesn't change why this effort mattered," he said. "I remain committed to finding a lawful path to uphold the will of Maine people." House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) called himself "disappointed" while respecting the ruling. Chrissy Hart, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maine, said the decision "will not stop us from advocating for the will of the people."

The only viable path forward is a constitutional amendment, requiring a two-thirds vote of both legislative chambers and ratification by a majority of Maine voters in a statewide referendum. This marks the second time in under a decade the SJC has unanimously blocked RCV from reaching state general elections.

The political backdrop gives Democrats reason to keep trying: a Republican has not received a majority of votes in a Maine gubernatorial election since 1962.