In the November election, the people of Maine approved ranked-choice voting at the ballot box. Although the election is over and the people have spoken in support of this measure, the issues confronting ranked-choice voting have not gone away. Opponents of the law are attempting to delay a successful implementation of this law, hoping to repeal it or reject the will of Maine voters. It is important to have the secretary of state start a transition process now to ensure ranked-choice voting is implemented by the 2018 election.

Ranked-choice voting was approved by almost 400,000 Mainers of different political backgrounds, and the people deserve to have their choices heard. Ranked-choice voting provides voters with the ability to vote for their favorite candidate, rather than choose the lesser of two unappealing options, or risk electing a candidate with whom they have strong differences in agenda and policy. If you are like me and don’t really consider yourself a truly one party voter, or don’t really fit with one set of political beliefs, but are willing to consider opinions from all political perspectives, ranked-choice voting will free you to vote the way you want.

The people voted for it, but opponents want to deny the people’s vote by stopping this law. The issue is far from settled, and the energy that made hundreds of thousands of Maine voters vote yes on Question 5 is still needed to ensure the successful transition and implementation of this law.

Anthony Salpietro

Readfield