| Jordan Thompson | The Maine Campus |
In other states, a third-party candidate is not likely to stand a chance. In Maine, the Ranked Choice Voting system allows for voters to prioritize the third-party candidate while also recognizing that a third-party vote still may not have enough backing to go through. They’re able to essentially pick their second-choice and that candidate can instead get the vote. This is an automatic thing when votes are counted, it’s not as if voters get to just change their vote.
”flexibility to use their vote
Being a third-party voter requires a sense of realism to recognize that a third-party candidate is not always going to be the best use of a vote. Ranked Choice Voting grants voters that flexibility to use their vote to its most efficient ability.