GOP Winner in Maine-02 Now Declared Loser Due to ‘Rank Voting’

[Swordsmyth]

It depends on just what you mean by "can win". If you mean "can win" merely in the sense of "is it possible", then I suppose it is. But if you mean "can win" in the sense of "is it any more likely under ranked-vote schemes than under the current single-vote system", then I am skeptical. The problem occurs if people "backstop" their first choice with the Republican (just as you suggested would happen). This eliminates any "spoiler" effect and insulates the Republicans against reaction, leading them to skew more liberal. But even worse, it also makes Republicans more likely to defeat Libertarians or Conservatives even if the Republican is not able to achieve a first-rank plurality (just as the Democrat defeated the Republican in Maine even though the Democrat failed to win the first-rank plurality).

There are only two ways around this under a ranked-vote system:
(1) win an absolute majority (with at least 50% + 1 of first-rank votes), or
(2) win without "backstopping" votes with the lesser evil (else the backstop is apt to win even without a first-rank plurality).

But (1) will be even harder to do under a ranked-vote system than it already is under a single-vote system.

And (2) will also be more difficult, since under a single-vote system (where the only votes are "first rank" votes), winning a first-rank plurality is strictly sufficient to win the election, which is not the case under a ranked-vote system (as the OP article clearly demonstrates).

You may be right but I see ranked choice voting as making it possible as opposed to impossible, in our current system 3rd parties are seen as a "wasted" vote and they never get any more than about 10% which will never be enough to win.

If the Swampublicans moved farther left because they didn't have to worry about the spoiler effect they might be replaced by a 3rd party just as they replaced the Whigs, that will never happen as long as they remain the "lesser of two evils".

 

[Swordsmyth]

A Republican incumbent dropped his request for a recount Friday in the first congressional race in U.S. history held under a system by which voters rank candidates in order of preference.The announcement by Rep. Bruce Poliquin came a day after a federal judge tossed out his challenge of the candidate-ranking system.
Poliquin lost his re-election bid to Democratic State Rep. Jared Golden in November. He requested the recount, which had been taking place in Augusta.
But on Friday, Poliquin tweeted that he believes it's important to end the recount, in part because of the coming holidays. He also said he's still evaluating the possibility of appealing the judge's decision on the constitutionality of the candidate-ranking system.
Poliquin said there are still "unanswered questions" on the use of the new method, which is often called ranked-choice voting .
"Maine people continue to write and approach me with grave concerns over rank voting," he tweeted. "I understand their concerns, and the need for our elections to be transparent and fair."

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/republican-d...e-congressional-race-170258714--election.html

 

[Swordsmyth]

Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin on Monday announced he's continuing his effort to have Maine's new election system used for the first time in a congressional race declared unconstitutional.A federal judge last week rejected Poliquin's request to nullify the outcome of the election and either declare him the winner or order another election. His notice of appeal was filed Monday in U.S. District Court.
Poliquin, who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Jared Golden, tweeted Monday evening that a formal appeal will be filed with the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, dragging on the longshot legal process.
Poliquin claims he should be the winner because he had the most first-place votes on Election Day. But Golden won the race in an extra round of voting in which two trailing independents were eliminated and their votes were reallocated.
"Rank voting came to Maine due to a largely out-of-state-funded push to change our election system that has worked well for one hundred years," he said in a statement. "There is nothing more fundamental than our one-person, one vote constitutional right," he added.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/republican-d...e-congressional-race-170258714--election.html