I support ranked-choice voting, Question 5 on the November ballot, for three reasons.

One, I want to hear more substantive viewpoints from more candidates. I am tired of watching two major party candidates attack each other. I want candidates to talk respectfully about substantive issues. So-called “third party” candidates do that, yet most forums do not include their voices. Ranked-choice voting will help all voices be heard.

Two, I always vote and always want my vote to count. But sometimes I do not vote for my favorite candidate because that candidate is unlikely to win. Ranked-choice voting means I can vote my conscience without wasting my vote. It also means the candidate with the most support will win. When the vote is split three (or more ways), ranked-choice gives us a runoff without the expense of another election. What can be better than electing our representatives by a majority?

Three, the Democrats and the Republicans have let me (and all of us) down. Perhaps breaking their monopoly will remove the gridlock of the current political arrangement.

June D. Zellers

West Gardiner

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