Runoff Elections in Maine

State Senator Tom Saviello has proposed that Maine adopt a mechanism that will allow its Governor to be elected with 50 percent of the vote. His feeling is that for too long Maine has elected governor's that do not have a strong mandate. It is a wise thought and long overdue.

Maine seems to consistently have a multitude of candidates and in Maine we like independents. It is an interesting proposition for a Republican at this time when I think any observer would feel that had we had this system in place last year that Elliot Cutler would be governor not Paul LePage. However in the long term it is difficult to determine who this would favor.

It will favor strong government however. Taking the top two candidates whoever they might be and having them have a vote between them would force a majority winner. It might also eliminate some of the negativity between candidates as a second choice candidate might need votes from people who did not vote for him the first time. A method that surely could bring about better, cleaner campaigns would be an instant runoff in which voters choose their first and second choices on the same ballot. It would be hard for this to be understood by a majority of voters and could actually lead to second choices being thrown away on fringe candidates making the whole thing more of a morass.

A runoff election 4 Tuesdays after the election however is a strong idea whose time has come.