Politics
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Maine’s ranked-choice vote count in Augusta faced a string of minor issues that caused at least a day-long delay along with heated debate over how the results would be delivered to candidates and the media.
Paper ballots and thumb drives with results had to be retrieved from multiple towns on Wednesday so officials could reconcile them. Thursday saw multiple technical difficulties and a handful of clerical errors in the run-up to the tabulation, including the public livestream temporarily going down as reporters and campaigns assembled to hear the results.
Election officials and the League of Women Voters of Maine say such issues are normal and resolved relatively quickly. The state was about a day behind 2018’s primary count and hours ahead of the tabulation in the 2024 general election.
But candidates on both sides of the aisle in a trio of major primary races expressed frustration with the process, which was initially expected to be wrapped up Wednesday but dragged out until nearly 2 a.m. Friday. Staffers with multiple campaigns said public trust would improve if the result was delivered faster or with clearer communication throughout the process.
“No voter should have to wait nine days to find out who won a primary election,” said lawyer Bobby Charles, who won the Republican gubernatorial primary, at an Augusta news conference Thursday. “This is not a close presidential contest.”
Charles said the data collection process, which involves law enforcement gathering thumb drives and paper ballots from every municipality and delivering them to Augusta, created several “failure points” that were nonsensical, costly and timely. He said Mainers deserve to know winners on election night and pledged to push to repeal ranked-choice voting if he wins, a common talking point for Republicans who would have to sweep the 2026 election to do so.
The state also tabulated the tight Democratic gubernatorial contest and the Democrats’ 2nd Congressional District primary. Former state House Speaker Hannah Pingree came out in the governor’s race and state Auditor Matt Dunlap came out on top in the House primary.
The League of Women Voters of Maine commended state and local officials for a timeline on par with other states and cities using ranked-choice voting. But the nonprofit still urged the state to provide preliminary results at the end of each day, citing Portland, Oregon’s method in 2024.
“It’s a way to satisfy the observers who tend to be candidates or people from political parties, to keep them apprised of what is happening,” Jen Lancaster, a spokesperson for the group, said..
State officials say the focus was accuracy, not speed.
“There are 487 municipalities in Maine, and it is a lengthy, meticulous process to ensure every single cast vote is counted and accounted for,” chief deputy Secretary of State Kate McBrien told the BDN Thursday as officials were still readying the ranked-choice tabulation. “Every number, every detail is checked and double-checked for accuracy.”
State officials noted that elections are conducted at the local level. Town staff vital to the overall process would not be available after hours or weekends. Overtime would also lead to considerable additional costs for the state.
Another issue that sparked debate this week was how the results would actually be announced: winners first, or with round-by-round data showing how and when candidates dropped off leading up to which ones came out on top.
On Wednesday multiple campaigns and media personnel went back-and-forth with McBrien over the nuts and bolts of the final tally announcement. Campaign staff, election observers and media can observe the process in Augusta, which is also livestreamed on YouTube. Bemused staffers talked under their breath as the count dragged on into late Thursday and early Friday.
State officials say what’s required in the final tabulation report is codified, but whether the announcement of the information leads with the winners or with the round-by-round breakdown is not a matter of law.
The office announced the winners and the order of candidate eliminations when it runs the tabulations. A report showing how votes moved through each round was available to people in Augusta in person within seconds of the announcement.
Will Mantell, the communications director of the pro-ranked-choice nonprofit FairVote, told BDN “this is usually just a matter of practice.” The group was not aware of the initial announcement process “being set out in any jurisdictions’ laws or regulations.”
“And no matter the exact order [or] style of release, everyone produces both things — the round-by-round count and the winner — anyway,” he said.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.