After reading John Pape’s letter (Oct. 28) on the costs of ranked-choice voting, I was surprised at how inaccurate it was. It is important to correct his notions. The actual cost of implementation, as pointed out by State Treasurer Terry Hayes, would be an estimated $550,000.

Gov. Paul LePage has acknowledged the issues with the current system and proposed moving toward an actual run-off system. It is great to find common ground on the seriousness of Maine’s broken election system, but by implementing ranked-choice voting instead of actual run-offs, Maine would be saving taxpayers up to $1.5 million.

Hayes has been clear in her assessment that “Question 5 proposes the most cost-effective and efficient process to conduct run-offs, when necessary, to restore majority rule in Maine elections. The cost to implement this decision is estimated to be roughly $550,000, significantly less than the alternative — actual run-off elections.”

There is broad consensus that the system isn’t working for voters. Ranked-choice voting is the simplest and most cost-efficient way to fix the system. It just makes sense.

Lisa Ward, Lisbon Falls