To the Editor:

I helped collect signatures to get the Ranked Choice Voting system in place for Maine voters, and I can testify that I didn't have to do much explaining — this was a bi-partisan change that virtually all my mid-coast neighbors knew was for the best.

Now I hear that some legislators want to question it, and play political games to keep it from being implemented. Among other things, they say that it is "unconstitutional" to have a system in which a candidate has to receive 50% (rather than our current system, in which the winner just has to have "more" votes than anyone else — even if still a minority of votes).

We have had too many "minority" governors lately — in fact almost all of those in the past 20+ years. In fact, the constitution was changed some years ago to allow this "minority" system to be implemented; before that, candidates had to get at least 50%. Now we have a system that tries to get us back to a fairer system, and the majority of Maine voters want to see reason return to the voting system. Already, the crowd who have declared for the governor's position is huge and varied. Many voters will be shut out by the primary system (as we have many registered "Independent").

With Ranked Choice Voting in place for the next Governor's race, I am confident that we will see a reasonable candidate emerge, who the whole state can support. Please contact your Augusta representatives and tell them to get behind implementation of this Ranked Choice Voting system. Any who obstruct it will be obstructing the improvement of our democracy.

Karen Gleeson, Northport