A polling station at Cape Elizabeth High School on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2023. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
Two of the three congressional races on Maine ballots in November will use ranked-choice voting, which has impacted the outcome of some recent elections.
Last week, the Department of the Secretary of State released an updated list of general candidates for all races, except for the presidency. The list included an independent candidate running for Maine’s 1st Congressional District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree. It also confirmed there are three candidates running against independent Angus King for his U.S. Senate seat. Because those races have more than two candidates each, they will use ranked-choice voting.
King is being challenged by Republican Demi Kouzounas, Democrat David Costello and independent Jason Cherry. The former Maine governor easily won his first campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and had little trouble getting reelected in 2018.
June’s Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District determined Ron Russell would challenge incumbent Pingree, a Democrat. The updated list from the Secretary of State includes a third candidate, Ethan Alcorn, an unenrolled independent from Saco.
Alcorn describes himself as a nonpartisan candidate, “with very simple and straightforward views to fix straightforward problems.” He added that he’s not left or right, but seeks “common sense and practical solutions.”
Having had multiple careers throughout his life, first as a massage therapist, then as a translator for a nonprofit and then landscaping, Alcorn became more politically involved after the 2016 election by contributing on talk radio stations WLOB and WGAN.
Alcorn tried to run for governor in 2018, but said he lacked the skills at the time to run a successful signature campaign. He tried again in 2022, but was short 600 signatures to get on the ballot, which he said was “due to time constraints.” Between those runs, Alcorn ran for school board in Saco and lost by 68 votes.
Because there are only two candidates, Republican Austin Theriault and incumbent Democrat Jared Golden, vying for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, ranked-choice voting will not be a factor.
Ranked-choice voting could potentially be used in the presidential election if independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — who has to submit 4,000 signatures to the Maine Secretary of State by Thursday — is on the ballot.
How it works
Under ranked-choice voting, voters indicate which candidate is their first choice, second choice, and so on. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes on election night, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated and their votes get reassigned to whomever their voters ranked second. This process is repeated until one candidate wins a majority of votes.
Ranked-choice voting has twice come into play in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Both in 2018 and 2022, Golden beat former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin after ranked-choice run offs.
Maine was the first state to adopt ranked-choice voting when it did so back in 2016, but it has gained popularity in recent years as more states and municipalities have adopted the practice.
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