AUGUSTA, Maine — A planned recount of more than 750,000 ballots on Question 2 of the November ballot has been withdrawn.
Kristen Muszynski, spokeswoman for the Maine secretary of state’s office, said opponents of the referendum, which places a 3 percent surtax on incomes above $200,000 per year, withdrew the request Tuesday afternoon.
The petitioners cited the recount procedure, along with the cost to the state and the low probability of overturning the result, as reasons for withdrawing the request.
Question 2 asked: “Do you want to add a 3% tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to create a state fund that would provide direct support for student learning in kindergarten through 12th grade public education?”
For the first time in Maine history, the Question 2 recount would have been done concurrently with a separate recount of Question 1, which seeks to legalize recreational marijuana. That recount is scheduled to begin Monday in Augusta.
“Based upon several factors, one of which is the proposed procedural process that your office is establishing, we have decided not to proceed,” wrote the petitioners in a three-page letter to Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn. “The costs associated with a recount of Question 2 exceed what we are willing to do given the very low probability that a recount would overturn the unofficial election result.”
Official Election Day tallies from the secretary of state’s office showed that Question 2 resulted in a difference of 9,580 votes, or about 1.3 percent. That’s below the 1.5 percent threshold under which recounts are conducted at no charge to the entities that request them.
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has estimated the cost of each referendum recount at close to $500,000, with most of that for Maine State Police to collect and deliver the ballots to Augusta, though running the recounts concurrently was expected to save money. The Question 2 opponents called that “troubling.”
“Combining the two recounts requires us to compromise our interests with those of the parties involved in the recount of Question 1,” reads the letter. “Question 1 is not our issue and we have no interest in recounting ballots for that question.”
The petitioners also objected to an agreement struck earlier this month — over their objections — to start the recount with Maine’s 10 largest municipalities, nine of which voted in support of Question 2.
“The municipalities you have selected for Phases 1 and 2 are not a diverse or representative mix of Maine communities,” wrote the petitions, which included officials from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association, the Retail Association of Maine and AGC Maine.
The petitioners were concerned with the estimated $500,000 cost of a recount to taxpayers.
Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said there is no money set aside to pay for collecting ballots and that most troopers accomplish that during their regular shifts.
“It does take away from what other duties they have,” McCausland said.
Question 2 Campaign Manager John Kosinski said in a written statement that he was pleased that the recount request was withdrawn.
“We are elated wealthy special interest groups opposed to Question 2 are willing to accept the will of the voters,” he said.
Question 1 won by just 4,073 votes, according to the secretary of state’s office, which is a margin of about 0.5 percent.
That recount will be administered by elections staff from the secretary of state’s office and will be overseen by attorneys and volunteers from Question 1’s opposition and proponents.
The ballots, which are stored in tamper-proof metal containers closed with specially numbered security seals and locks, will be kept in a secure location by the Maine State Police.
Muszynski said the recount could take up to six weeks unless it is stopped early because the party requesting it concedes.
“It’s pretty rare to go all the way through,” Muszynski said. “Generally they would decide to concede at some point if the numbers are not moving in their favor.”
According to the Maine Law and Legislative Reference Library, no statewide ballot question has ever been overturned in a recount in Maine.
