An Act Regarding Open Primary Elections And Ranked-Choice Voting

LD 1422 establishes open primary elections for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, State Senator, and State Representative races, allowing any voter to participate regardless of party affiliation. It also implements ranked-choice voting for these same offices (and presidential electors) when three or more candidates qualify, requiring voters to rank candidates by preference. Under this system, last-place candidates are eliminated in rounds until a winner emerges (or top finishers advance to the general election: top 2 for state offices, top 4 for federal offices). The bill amends Maine’s election statutes to define "open primary" and "ranked-choice voting" and modifies voter enrollment rules to support these changes. This directly affects voters and candidates in Maine’s state and federal elections for the specified offices.