[WESTBROOK, ME] — The League of Women Voters of Maine and Ranked Choice Voting Westbrook joined forces to host a canvassing event ahead of the November 2nd election. The rally informed Westbrook residents about adopting Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for their local elections, and advocates urged eligible voters to vote YES in support of amending the City Charter to implement RCV.
Samantha Bassett, a local resident and advocate, wanted to find a way to bring RCV for municipal elections to Westbrook. She brought it forward to her City Councilor, David Morse, and became the catalyst for the movement that would eventually lead to the amendment question on the November 2 ballot.
If the amendment passes, the City Charter will be amended, and RCV will be used for municipal elections, including Mayoral, City Council, and School Committee races. Westbrook will become the second city in Maine to adopt RCV for local elections, after Portland.
The rally took place in Riverbank Park in Westbrook, followed by advocates going door-to-door to inform voters about the upcoming election.
“This is an inspiring example of how all change really starts from a few individuals who wanted to make something important happen. Westbrook has a lot of interest in representing constituents, but that often means there are more than two candidates on the ballot. Now that Maine is used to Ranked Choice Voting for state elections, naturally, a lot of citizens are asking why are we not doing this for our city elections? Hopefully after this election, we will start using [RCV], ” said David Morse, Westbrook City Councilor and RCV endorser.
“The strength of a democracy comes from two key concepts: consent of the governed and majority rule. Ranked Choice Voting is one way that allows those who are elected to more accurately reflect the will of the majority. In addition, it allows for more than two candidates to run without having to worry that votes will be split. Vote-splitting occurs most easily in plurality voting, which is what we currently use. Ranked Choice Voting eliminates that, and provides more choices for us, the voters,” said Heather Kenyon, Westbrook resident and RCV advocate.
“Mainers consistently vote in favor of using Ranked Choice Voting, and RCV will certainly be beneficial for Westbrook. In the 2016 and 2017 mayoral races, there were four candidates each year, and none of them received a majority of the vote. Had RCV been used and implemented, the tabulation would have resulted in a winning candidate that represented the will of the majority,” said Anna Kellar, the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Maine.
The League of Women Voters of Maine supports election systems for offices in single seat elections that require the winner to receive a majority of the votes, as long as the majority is achieved by Ranked Choice Voting, rather than a second, separate runoff election.