Kyle Bailey is a former state representative from Gorham. He managed the campaigns that won and protected ranked-choice voting, founded the organization that passed semi-open primaries, and authored the bill that created Maine’s current ongoing absentee voting program.

On June 9, Maine proved that when voters have the power to rank their choices in primaries that are open to unenrolled voters and in which voters can more easily vote with ongoing absentee voting, the result is record-breaking participation.

According to Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, 2026 primary turnout was up 40.8% over 2018. This result was, in large part, due to structural changes made over the past decade in Maine that have leveled the playing field and opened the door for new and different voices to more easily participate in the political process.

I knew that ranked-choice voting would be healthy for the parties when former Sen. Dick Woodbury, former Rep. Diane Russell, political reformer Cara Brown McCormick and I launched a signature drive to place it on the 2016 statewide ballot. What I didn’t fully comprehend was the profound and positive difference it would make in primaries.

Ranked-choice voting, which was first implemented in Maine’s 2018 primary elections, has not only given voters more meaningful choices, but it has opened the door for more non-traditional candidates like Dr. Nirav Shah, Bobby Charles and Graham Platner. 

Prior to ranked-choice voting, all three of these candidates would have likely been labeled as “spoilers” from the moment their candidacies were announced — or they would have been talked out or pushed out of running entirely. 

Had the primaries this year used single-choice instead of ranked-choice voting, voters would almost certainly have been pressured to vote “strategically” for establishment picks to avoid  “wasting” votes for outsiders who “can’t win.” Turnout would have been dismal.

Fortunately, Maine has ranked-choice voting for primaries. No more “spoiler” candidates. No more “vote-splitting.” (Progressive activist Betsy Sweet was the first to prove the viability of non-traditional candidates with ranked-choice voting in Maine’s 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, when she ran an inspiring campaign and finished third-place in the crowded field.)

The simple change of ranking candidates in nominating contests has shifted power away from party leaders and donors and put it into the hands of primary voters — with a consensus process that allows citizens to unite behind majority-supported nominees. Indeed, ranked-choice voting has helped parties build bigger tents and engage, excite and empower more of the electorate, especially when combined with semi-open primaries.

For years advocates of semi-open primaries were laughed out of the State House, but former Rep. Kent Ackley, veteran political operative Kaitlin LaCasse, Betsy Sweet and I kept coming back, session after session, slowly building support for allowing unenrolled voters to participate in taxpayer-funded primaries, until the bill finally became law.

Maine’s 2026 primary election was the first in which unenrolled voters could participate in the taxpayer-funded party primary election of their choice — and participate they did.

In both Maine’s Democratic and Republican primaries on June 9, voter turnout was up, proving that the synergy between ranked-choice voting, semi-open primaries and ongoing absentee voting is real and profound.

Rep. Ryan Fecteau introduced ongoing absentee voting bills during his first several terms in the Maine House, but the issue received only modest support. When Fecteau was elected as speaker of the Maine House, the door opened for advocates and legislative allies to make progress on this issue. 

While we didn’t win ongoing absentee voting for all voters, we took a big step forward by securing ongoing absentee voting for seniors and the disabled — citizens for whom showing up at the polls can be disproportionately burdensome or difficult. 

Ongoing absentee voting is secure, reliable and widely used across the U.S. I hope that Maine’s next governor and legislature take steps to expand it. Most importantly, I hope that there are enough reasonable lawmakers in the next legislative session to send an amendment to Maine voters so they can finally decide whether they want to use ranked-choice voting in general elections for governor and legislature.

To politicians and party leaders who have opposed ranked-choice voting, semi-open primaries, and ongoing absentee voting in the past: it’s OK to change your mind — or at least be pragmatic about elections.

Like or dislike these reforms, they are popular with voters, widely used by your constituents, and aren’t going away.

Your constituents want free and fair elections that are open to all voters; in which voting is relatively easy; and, that are free from “spoiler” candidates, “vote-splitting,” “wasted” votes and “strategic voting”.

The future of elections is here. None of the predicted doom and gloom around these changes has come to pass. You need not allow narrow factions, special interests and billionaire donors to set your agenda and pick your battles.

Our nonpartisan movement to improve voting and elections welcomes converts, the cautiously optimistic and those committed to collaboration. Together, we can find common ground, work together to make our union more perfect and write the next chapter in our great American experiment in self-government.