Are you OK with voting for a candidate you are less enthusiastic about because your first choice might not be popular enough to win? With ranked-choice voting, you could vote for who you like and indicate your second choice, so you don’t have to worry about splitting the vote and electing your least-preferred candidate.

Second-choice rankings would only be used if no one wins over 50 percent of the vote in the first tally. The candidate with the fewest votes would be dropped, and the second choices of people who voted for that person would be added to the other candidates.

This should not be a partisan issue. During the last 20 years, five of our governors won with less than 40 percent of the popular vote — two Democrats, two Republicans and an independant. But the Maine Republican Party has objected that ranked-choice voting would change election results, and they are right. Politicians who insult their opponents and incite divisiveness and hatred would get very few second-choice rankings. This would make elections more civil and focused on the issues, and more consistent with the spiritual values of respect and compassion for all people.

Two years ago, Mainers passed a referendum to use ranked-choice voting. Our governor and Legislature tried to block our decision in all races, even though it is completely legal in races governed by the federal, not state, constitution. It is legal in both state and federal primaries and the final elections of federal representatives. Now we need to vote again in June to insist that ranked-choice voting be enacted in these legal races.

Vote yes on Question 1 to force Augusta to preserve ranked-choice voting in these particular races. Let our politicians know that the people of Maine will decide how we want to be governed.

Margrit Thomas

Waterville

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