Current:Home > StocksRanked voting tabulation in pivotal Maine congressional race to begin Tuesday -Streamline Finance
Ranked voting tabulation in pivotal Maine congressional race to begin Tuesday
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:12:12
Follow AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A ranked-choice voting tabulation aimed at determining the winner of a key congressional race in Maine will start on Tuesday with scanning of ballots into a computer at a centralized location, with a goal of having results by week’s end, the state’s top election official said Saturday.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden already said he won the election in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District but the secretary of state said neither Golden nor Republican Austin Theriault surpassed 50% of first-place votes on Election Day, necessitating the shipment of ballots to the state capital for an additional voting round.
Under Maine’s ranked choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference on ballots. If no candidate wins a majority of first-place votes, then the lesser choices of the last-place finisher’s supporters are reallocated to establish a majority winner.
Election officials intend to begin scanning ballots into a computer Tuesday afternoon with a goal of running the tabulation by week’s end, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Saturday. After ranked voting is concluded, state election officials will begin a formal recount requested by Theriault based on the razor-thin margin.
As it stands, both candidates were just below 49%, with Golden holding a slight edge of about 2,000 votes, according to figures released by the secretary of state.
Golden and Theriault were the only candidates on the ballot, but Diana Merenda of Surry, who ran an organized write-in candidacy, received several hundred votes. The second choices of any voters who left their first choice blank also will be counted. Other write-in candidates will be treated as blanks.
The race is among a handful of pivotal races without a declared winner, with control of the U.S. House at stake. The thin margin came in an election in which Republican Donald Trump won the 2nd District, allowing him to collect one of Maine’s four electoral votes. Maine is one of two states that split electoral votes.
veryGood! (56386)
Related
- Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
- Washington State 4-year-old boy attacked, killed by family dog on Halloween, police say
- 9 students from same high school overdose on suspected fentanyl, Virginia governor steps in
- Nebraska pipeline opponent, Indonesian environmentalist receive Climate Breakthrough awards
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Trial testimony reveals gambling giant Bally’s paid $60 million to take over Trump’s NYC golf course
- Trial testimony reveals gambling giant Bally’s paid $60 million to take over Trump’s NYC golf course
- Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of all charges and could face decades in prison
- Paris Olympics live updates: Quincy Hall wins 400m thriller; USA women's hoops in action
- Horoscopes Today, November 2, 2023
Ranking
- Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
- Khloe Kardashian’s Son Tatum Is Fast and Furious in Dwayne Johnson Transformation
- No splashing! D-backs security prevents Rangers pool party after winning World Series
- Amazon used an algorithm to essentially raise prices on other sites, the FTC says
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Amazon used an algorithm to essentially raise prices on other sites, the FTC says
- Jury begins deliberating fate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried
- Panama’s congress backtracks to preserve controversial Canadian mining contract
Recommendation
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
Mississippi voter registration numbers remain steady heading into Tuesday’s general election
Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of all charges and could face decades in prison
Trial testimony reveals gambling giant Bally’s paid $60 million to take over Trump’s NYC golf course
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí helped beat sexism in Spain. Now it’s time to ‘focus on soccer’
Daylight saving 2023: Here’s what a sleep expert says about the time change
Yellen says the US economic relationship with China must consider human rights and national security