How A Stupid Election Rule Could Reelect A Tea Party Governor That His Voters Hate

[Tx4obama]

How A Stupid Election Rule Could Reelect A Tea Party Governor That His Voters Hate

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is not a beloved leader. Just 39 percent of Maine voters approve of his performance in office, and he would lose a one-on-one race against his likely Democratic challenger by a massive 54-39 margin. Nor are these numbers particularly surprising. Despite being the governor of a blue state, LePage supports cutting health and retirement benefits to pay for tax cuts for the rich, rolling back child labor laws, blacklisting journalists — all while making anal rape jokes and protesting a non-existent “tax on bull semen.”

And yet, thanks to the absurd way that Maine (and most other states) conduct their elections, LePage could wind up being reelected in a state that hates his policies and would rather vote for his opponent.

Although LePage would lose in a blowout to Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) in a two-way race, in a much more likely three-way race between Michaud, LaPage, and independent candidate Eliot Cutler, Michaud’s lead shrinks to just four points — 39-35, with Culter polling 18 percent.

If this scenario sounds familiar, that’s because it is. In the 2010 Maine gubernatorial race, Culter — a former Carter Administration official who frequently attacks LaPage from the left — squared off against LaPage and Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell. Although LaPage received only 38 percent of the statewide vote, the remaining vote largely split between the two left-of-center candidates. Nearly 56 percent of Mainers either voted for the Democrat or voted for the former Democratic official, but the guy who received just 38 percent of the vote got to be governor nonetheless.

-snip-

Full article here: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/30/2557811/stupid-election-rule-wind-reelecting-tea-party-governor-voters-hate/

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Occasionally someone tries to push for a change to ranked, cumulative, or approval voting, but it

keeps getting smacked down.

I guess we gotta keep going through the pain of being governed by the least wanted person until we finally decide we've had enough. *sigh*

[unblock]

2. waah! too compicated! me no unnerstans!

yeah, personally I like the idea of each voter ranking all the candidates (or as many as you care to).

as the votes are counted, the candidate with the least number of highest rank votes is eliminated, and this repeats until there's only one candidate left, which is deemed the winner.

this means if your #1 choice is eliminated at any stage, your #2 choice is still a valid vote; in each round your vote counts for the one you want most from among the remaining candidates.

this has the advantage that it's far easier to vote for who you truly want -- you don't have to "throw away" a vote just to vote for a third party candidate. So if you can vote for the green party candidate, then the democratic candidate, and put the republican last. if the green party candidate is eliminated, your vote still counts for the democrat.


no scheme is perfect, and this one isn't either, at least not in theory (e.g., one candidate could be a universal #2 choice who beats all the other candidates in head-to-head matchups, and hence a great compromise candidate everyone would be pretty happy with, but if the #1 votes are split among the other candidates, could be eliminated on the first round).


people play on the inevitable public confusion over such schemes, but the real reason this ideas fail to get implemented is that the republican AND democratic parties both benefit immensely from the current voting methods, so they do everything they can to kill change.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Ultimately I think it came down to money, and the town clerks not wanting all the extra work as

many towns still vote with paper and pencil.

[meow2u3]

3. Can't the Maine Goon be recalled or impeached?

First question: Does Maine have recall petitions? I'd like to know.

Second question: Does the Maine State House have the votes to impeach LePage?

Disclaimer: I'm not a Mainer; in fact, I never have been to Maine.

[madinmaryland]

9. I think our Maine Coon would make a better governor than LePage.

[meow2u3]

10. DUzy!

[gopiscrap]

4. shit

[Rainforestgoddess]

5. Welcome to Canada

That's exactly how we ended up with Harper.

[Jim Lane]

6. It's not a stupid rule. It's a stupid candidate.

Thinking about possible improvements to the system is no excuse for not using the mechanisms of the system that's now in place. The key mechanism here is the primary.

If Michaud and Cutler are both attacking LePage from the left, then both should run in the Democratic primary. The one who wins becomes the designated challenger to LePage. The one who loses doesn't appear on the November ballot and doesn't split the vote.

If Cutler doesn't do that, then he owes the public an explanation: If he doesn't think he can get more votes than Michaud in a primary, what makes him think he could get more votes than Michaud in the general election?

Of course, even if Cutler persists in his obstinacy, the voters deserve some of the blame, too. With the example of the last election fresh in their minds, they should recognize that an independent or third-party candidacy poses a serious danger that LePage will be re-elected with a mere plurality. Voters should vote against the candidate who precipitated this danger. Even if, looking at issue positions and other qualifications, a voter somewhat prefers Cutler to Michaud, that voter should vote for Michaud. "Let Cutler act like a responsible adult if he wants my support" should be the message.

[The Magistrate]

8. Hear Hear, Sir! A Vote For The 'Independent' Is A Vote For The Tea-Bagger

It really is that flat.

[davidpdx]

11. Having three I candidates didn't help

In a five way race it isn't surprising that no one was able to get over 40% of the vote.