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LD 911

An Act To Modify Ranked-Choice Voting With Regard To Candidates Who Withdraw From An Election

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Mike Tipping

Clarifies ranked-choice voting rules when a candidate withdraws, dies, or is disqualified, guiding ballot handling and vote redistribution to reduce voter and official uncertainty.

Signed by Governor
#elections #ranked-choicevoting #votingprocedures
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Bill Summary · LD 911

Summary — LD 911

Title: An Act To Modify Ranked-Choice Voting With Regard To Candidates Who Withdraw From An Election
Enacted: Signed by the Governor, June 18, 2025
Introduced: March 5, 2025 (Sponsor: Sen. Tipping of Penobscot)
Subject: Elections — ranked‑choice voting (RCV), voting procedures

Purpose and intent

LD 911 clarifies and modifies Maine’s ranked‑choice voting procedures to address how ballots and vote tabulation should be handled when a candidate withdraws from an election and, as amended, also when a candidate dies or becomes disqualified. The goal is to reduce uncertainty for voters and election officials and to provide clear, administrable rules for redistribution of ranked votes in such circumstances.

Key provisions (summary)

Note: the enacted bill was amended in committee and on the floor; the final engrossed version expands the text to explicitly cover withdrawals, deaths, and disqualifications.
- Establishes clear procedures for how a withdrawn candidate is treated in the RCV counting process (depending on timing of withdrawal relative to ballot preparation and election day).
- Sets out rules for handling ballots that contain rankings for candidates who have withdrawn, died, or become disqualified — including how and when voters’ next valid preferences are counted.
- Provides administrative steps for election officials (Secretary of State, municipal clerks) to follow when a withdrawal/death/disqualification occurs, including notification and modification of counts as necessary.
- Clarifies deadlines and thresholds that affect whether a candidate’s name may be removed from ballots or whether votes for that candidate are redistributed during tabulation.
- Addresses special circumstances such as withdrawals after ballots are printed or on/after election day, and how those situations affect results, recounts, and certification.

(The enacted text combines Committee Amendment “A” (S‑333) as amended by Senate Amendment “A” (S‑378).)

Who is affected

  • Voters: clarifies how their ranked choices will be treated if a candidate they ranked withdraws, dies, or is disqualified.
  • Candidates and campaigns: establishes predictable effects of a withdrawal or disqualification on ballot treatment and vote redistribution.
  • Election administrators (Secretary of State, municipal clerks, tabulation officials): provides procedural rules to implement during RCV counts.
  • Political parties and election monitors: benefit from clearer procedures reducing disputes and ambiguity.

Fiscal and timeline notes

  • Multiple fiscal notes (original and as amended) state: No fiscal impact.
  • Key legislative actions:
    • Referred to Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee: March 5, 2025
    • Committee work and amendments: April–June 2025
    • Passed both chambers (House roll call 74–68; Senate roll call 21–13)
    • Signed by Governor: June 18, 2025
  • Effective date: not specified in the summary documents; the bill is enacted as of the Governor’s signature and will take effect according to any effective‑date language in the statute (or standard state law if not specified).

If you would like, I can locate or summarize the bill’s enacted statutory text to provide precise deadlines, the exact language on redistribution rules, and the bill’s effective date.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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