New way of voting faces test in Maine congressional district

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For most candidates, the election wound up last week. Not so in Maine.

The four-way battle for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat won’t be concluded until a computer algorithm has the final say. The winner will be either Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin or Democratic state lawmaker Jared Golden.

Ranked-choice voting has made its national debut in U.S. House and Senate races in Maine. The system lets voters rank candidates in the order they would want them to place.

Under the system, a candidate wins with a majority. If there’s no majority winner, the last-place candidate’s second-place votes are reallocated to remaining candidates. The process repeats until there’s a majority winner.

One expert who has studied the voting system says this election represents its biggest test.