Ranked Choice Voting Revolution
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -- President John F. Kennedy
Dear Friends, Mainers, and Americans,
Help us win a Peaceful Voting Revolution in Maine!
Help Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and Our Posterity!
Make the politicians listen to We the People.
End the stranglehold on power of the two dominant parties, and let More Voices, and More Choices be available to voters.
42% of Americans do not support either of the major parties, yet almost all elected officials are from the two parties. What is up with that?!?
We deserve a method of marking and counting ballots that hears all of our voices, and gives us better choices.
The People of Maine voted for Ranked Choice Voting in 2016. We won, with 52% of the vote.
The politicians tried to stop it. They passed legislation that effectively killed the will of the voters.
The people went out in the cold and dark of winter to collect over 80,000 signatures for a People's Veto, to tell the politicians, "NO, we voted for this, you represent us! Git 'er dun!"
The Politicians, working against the majority of the People of Maine, have now refused to fund a Ranked Choice Voting election.
Time is running out, and the first ever statewide Ranked Choice Voting election in the United States of America is scheduled for June 12 of this year (2018)!
The Secretary of State says it will cost $833,644 to fund the election effort to successfully put Ranked Choice Voting into effect for the first time.
The politicians, afraid the may have to actually convince the majority, and not their narrow party bases, that they are worthy of representing us, want to sabotage the efforts of the People of Maine, to stop Ranked Choice Voting on a statewide scale.
Ranked Choice Voting is a better system, that improves our democratic systems. It helps mitigate the spoiler effect.
It was invented in 1871 in New England. It has been used for over 100 years in places around the world, including Australia , where Conservatives first introduced it to be used nationwide in the beginning of the last century.
The nonpartisan League of Women Voters has advocated for Ranked Choice Voting asa better system to improve our election process and better represent We the People, ALL the people.
RCV is not a partisan issue, but has been made to be one because of our divisive politics, and because the unique unpopularity of Governor LePage helped propel it onto the ballot.
In Utah and Alaska , Republicans supported efforts to bring Ranked Choice Voting into the Political process.
Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to conduct an Instant Runoff Election using a single ballot if no candidate gets 50%+1 of the vote.
Ranked Choice Voting lets the voters express our preference in a crowded multiple candidate election.
Ranked Choice Voting doesn't favor any party or candidate.
Ranked Choice Voting mitigates the Spoiler Effect.
Ranked Choice Voters can never be accused of "throwing their vote away" or "wasting their vote on a third party candidate". They get to rank the candidates in their order of preference.
Ranked Choice Voting lets you vote your mind, heart, and conscience, without creating a spoiler that can throw the race to the candidate we most oppose.
If you are one of the 42% of people who didn't vote, Ranked Choice Voting could give you a reason to come back to the polls, and participate in our Democratic Republic.
A recent article in Politico about RCV in Maine (This is where the $833,644 number comes from): Politico Article about Ranked Choice Voting in Maine
Learn about the basics of Ranked Choice Voting:
In Portland, in 2011, Ranked Choice Voting helped choose a candidate who enjoyed wide support of the voters out of a field of 15 candidates. In Portland, where the voters are familiar with RCV, over 70% of voters approved the measure, compared to 52% statewide. In a state that values tradition, it was remarkable for this "new" system to gain such support.
Picture: Here are the results of the 2011, RCV election in Portland.
I have been advocating for this issue for many years, here I am doing voter education on the streets of Portland, Maine in 2011 before the first Ranked Choice Voting election for the Mayor (the results of that election are the picture for this GoFundMe effort. I did not know I was going to be interviewed, this was my impromptu and spontaneous response when asked why I supported for Ranked Choice Voting. (Sorry for the fist, I am not really that violent looking, the video thumbnail captured me in that moment).
I am a 50 year old maried retired military officer (24 years in the Maine Army National Guard, with two tours of duty in Iraq ), a disabled veteran (I have artificial parts in my heart, and still volunteered to go back for a second tour of duty in Iraq--I believe America is all of our personal responsibility), and I am a former U.S. History teacher.
I also was a public servant working for the federal government for the last five-and-a-half years, just retired. I have been a traditional swing voter in my life, and have voted for both Republican, Democrats, and Independents.
I was one of the signature collectors out on the streets this winter in Maine to support the People's Veto. This is the first political issue I have ever actively advocated for our donated money to.
I am dismayed at how our politics continues to divide us rather than uniting us.
We are a better people and nation that tearing ourselves apart. Let's give Ranked Choice Voting a chance. Help support the effort in Maine.
I am an unpaid volunteer. I promise that every dollar raised (less the GoFundMe fee) will go to pay to ensure a successful Ranked Choice Voting election is conducted in the State of Maine, through voter education efforts, watchdog efforts to ensure the process is not sabotaged, supporting the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting which has been coordinating the statewide effort, and/or going to the Secretary of State to be used specifically for the purpose of conducting a successful, well organized, and observed first in the nation statewide Ranked Choice Voting election.
Any remaning funds will be used to support efforts to improve our democratic systems in other cities and states.
Please don't miss this chance to fundamentally level the playing field and improve our system of voting. We may never get another chance to upgrade and improve our democratic institutions on this scale.
If Ranked Choice fails in Maine, it will be very difficult to do anywhere else.
Help reduce the politics of fear and hate, and rather than candidates dividing us, separating us and wedging us apart as a people.
If Ranked Choice Voting succeeds, we can update and improve the great experiment of American democracy, and it could harken a new era of political leaders who work together to appeal to the greatest number of us, and speak to our common interests and that which unites us.
Sincerely,
Mitch
M D Mitchell
Major, Retired, Maine Army National Guard
Citizen of Maine
Proud American
Ranked Choice Voting Advocate and Volunteer
Update 6 April 2018
Update 29 March 2018:
The Secretary of State attempts to stop RCV from being implemented.
http://www.fairvote.org/maine_law_still_requires_rcv_in_june_primaries
Update 29 March 2018:
Diana Russell, candidate for governor, and leader of RCV movement in Maine, explains what happened in commitee.
https://www.facebook.com/Misswrite/videos/10160101368695403/