Statement on Maine’s Ranked Choice Voting Results
November 16, 2022 – Rob Richie, President and CEO of FairVote, shared the following statement in response to ranked choice voting election results in Maine’s 2nd congressional district:
“Three cycles in, ranked choice voting is delivering on its promise in Maine. Ranked choice voting frees Maine voters to express their true preferences and support their candidates of choice. Candidates are rewarded for connecting to more voters and building broad coalitions.
“FairVote’s ranked choice poll forecast Jared Golden’s win and margin, showing that ranked choice polling is reliable and accurate. Overall, Maine’s experience with ranked choice voting is a model for other states, cities, and counties that want better elections.”
The results are displayed here, and more analysis is below:
Golden’s path to victory
In the final round, Democrat Jared Golden won with 53.05% of the vote to 46.95% for Republican Bruce Poliquin. Golden began with a four-point lead among first choices and grew his lead to six points in the “instant runoff” by earning more 2nd-choice support than Poliquin.
When independent candidate Tiffany Bond and write-ins were eliminated, 55% of those voters ranked Golden as their 2nd choice, compared to 23% who ranked Poliquin. 22% did not rank a second choice on their ballots.
Golden’s ranked choice voting (RCV) victory demonstrates both a strong depth and breadth of support – he led among voters’ first choices, and then was able to appeal to Bond voters outside his base. In other words, Golden’s winning coalition includes voters who ranked him first and voters who ranked him second. Golden made notable efforts to appeal to Bond voters, including stating at one point that he would not participate in debates unless Bond was also included. In recent weeks, Poliquin also acknowledged that RCV was “really easy.”
Good governance and ranked choice voting
When Golden was first elected in 2018, just like this year, he earned less than 50% of voters’ 1st choices. That means he needed some second-choices in order to win.
During his time in office, Golden’s policy choices have reflected his accountability to this broad coalition. Golden is scored as one of the most centrist members of the House of Representatives. In turn, that centrism and independence from his party (in one of the few competitive House districts across the country) appears to have contributed to his stronger performance in the 2022 election, where an even larger coalition is now sending him back to Washington.
This suggests a positive feedback loop between strong wins delivered by ranked choice voting and reflective governance. It is a trend we’ll continue to watch as more states, like Alaska and perhaps Nevada, elect their U.S. Senators and Representatives using ranked choice voting.
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FairVote is a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all. We research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American.
