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LEWISTON, Maine — Election officials have indicated that Maine’s ranked choice voting system will necessitate a redistribution of votes to declare a winner in the closely contested congressional race between Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and Republican challenger Austin Theriault. This process commenced on Friday, despite Golden’s assertion that he had secured an outright victory without requiring further counting.
The race in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District stands as one of the few pivotal contests yet to announce a winner, which is critical as control of the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance.
As it stands, the official announcement of the winner will not occur until the following week.
In Maine’s ranked choice voting framework, should no candidate achieve a majority during the initial round, second choices from supporters of the last-place candidate will be allocated to determine a majority winner. Additionally, any second choices from voters who left their first choice blank will be included in this calculation. If the process still does not yield a candidate with at least 50% plus one vote, the counting will proceed to third choices, and so forth.
The Associated Press has refrained from declaring a winner at this stage. The final decision will be postponed until next week, when ballots collected from multiple towns within the district are brought to the state capital for re-scanning into a centralized system.
Theriault, having requested a recount due to the razor-thin margin in the initial count, indicated that his campaign is on board with the ranked choice counting process. “There is a process in place, and we look forward to the process unfolding according to the law,” noted Theriault’s campaign manager Shawn Roderick.
Conversely, Golden challenged the necessity of the ranked choice counting, stating, “The rules are clear: A ranked-choice run-off is required only if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes. When the clerks reported returns on Tuesday, Congressman Golden was the candidate who received more than 50 percent of first-choice votes. Voters have a right to see elections decided both accurately and expediently.”
Typically, ranked voting is leveraged in races with multiple candidates; however, in this case, Golden and Theriault were the only names listed on the ballot, although write-in options existed for voters.
Maine does not enforce a mandatory recount in close elections, though candidates can request one. If the margin of victory is 1% or less in congressional races, a recount can be requested without any required deposit.
The minute margin in this election stands out, especially considering that Republican Donald Trump previously secured a victory in the 2nd District during the last presidential election, thereby capturing one of Maine’s four electoral votes. Notably, Maine is among the two states that split their electoral votes.
Throughout his campaign, Golden emphasized his capacity to collaborate with both political parties, along with his advocacy for the lobster industry, a vital sector for the economy of the region.
Theriault, who was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2022, often characterized Golden as being overly liberal for the district. While Theriault received support from Trump, he also sought to position himself as a potential unifier in a politically divisive environment.
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abcnews.go.com