Socialists seek official party status in Maine

[TexasTowelie]

The Socialist Party of Maine is seeking official recognition as a political party in the state.

Organizers received authorization from the Secretary of State’s office this week to begin enrolling voters in the Socialist Party, according to a press release. In order to qualify for official status, the Socialist Party will have to enroll at least 5,000 voters by January 2020. To maintain that status, at least 10,000 voters enrolled as Socialists would need to cast votes in the following general election.

The party held its first convention in Maine in July 2016 and identifies itself as “a democratic socialist organization.”

“We advocate for a political revolution that places the government back in the hands of the working class and will seek further electoral reform in Maine, such as ranked-choice voting, to undo the havoc caused by the two-party system in this country and allow for more third party participation resulting in a government that more fully represents the will of working class people,” party co-chair Seth Braun said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.sunjournal.com/2018/12/19/socialists-seek-official-party-status-in-maine/

[3Hotdogs]

1. Aren't they already a party? Eugene Debs?

[marble falls]

2. Will not mean a thing except to split progressive vote without changing elections ...

to have runoffs in case of an election where the winner doesn't have a 51% majority.

We need to change our election laws to allow more parties and to allow for more runoffs.

[TexasTowelie]

3. Since Maine has moved to rank-choice ballots,

it removes the need to have a runoff election. Using a rank-choice ballot also strengthens the position of third parties since voters can make their first selection without having the fear that their ballots won't matter because they didn't vote for a major party candidate.

[marble falls]

4. I'm not 99% sure about ranked voting. I've heard of instances where two ...

Democrats had to run against each other. Was that in Maine?

[TexasTowelie]

5. I believe you are thinking of jungle primaries.

Last edited Fri Dec 21, 2018, 04:33 PM - Edit history (1)

All candidates, regardless of party, run in an initial primary, then the top two advance into a runoff if nobody receives a majority in the initial part. It is possible that two candidates from both parties will face each other in the runoffs. That is the system used in California.

When a ranked preference ballot is used if nobody wins a clear majority when they initially count the votes, then the person who is in last is eliminated. The votes for the eliminated candidate are reallocated to the next choice. This process repeats until one of the candidates has a majority. This method has some advantages such as eliminating the need to conduct runoffs which saves money for taxpayers and it also eliminates the need for candidates to continue raising funds for the runoff elections. While there might be some delay in recounting the ballots if they have to start eliminating candidates, it is still faster than having to call a runoff election.

[marble falls]

6. Jeepers.

[LBM20]

7. Ranked Choice Voting is a runoff voting system. It is an INSTANT runoff system.

It is much less expensive, more inclusive, much faster, and more efficient than a traditional runoff system. It works great as we have seen.