Concerns Arise Over Maine’s Ranked-Choice Voting Results
Following Maine’s primary election earlier this month, issues regarding the handling of ranked-choice voting results are coming to light. Reports indicate problems in various communities, which have sparked worries about transparency, the procedures for maintaining the chain of custody, and public confidence in the voting process.
Investigation efforts began early Tuesday after a tip-off about complications with the election results being processed by the Maine Secretary of State’s office amid the ongoing count of ranked votes.
One major incident occurred in Biddeford, where it seemed that election results were missing from the state’s ranked choice vote tally. In our effort to get clarity, we visited Biddeford City Hall to speak with Interim City Clerk Crystal Morin and Communications Director Danica LaMontagne.
City officials clarified that the results were not overlooked; rather, they mistakenly sent the wrong flash drive to the Secretary of State’s office after Election Day. The initial drive included local election results instead of the necessary state results for the ranked count process.
Moreover, investigators from the Secretary of State’s Office later retrieved the correct flash drive from Biddeford and transported it to Augusta for accurate processing.
This situation raises various questions. For instance, why did it take a week to identify the flash drive mix-up? What measures were in place to secure the correct drive during that period? Additionally, how was the mistake detected, and are there safeguards in place to prevent such issues in future elections?
Bideford wasn’t the only place grappling with election-related challenges. In Bath, city officials confirmed delays in submitting election results to the Secretary of State’s office, though they could not provide specifics about the reasons behind the holdup. Meanwhile, in Bowdoinham, officials acknowledged issues with scanning ballots post-election, leading to the decision to have state police collect and take the ballots to Augusta for rescanning.
The situation raises further inquiries regarding local election officials’ verification processes and whether they had the means to independently verify results before submission to the state for rescanning.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Shena Bellows (D) had not made any public statements about the various reported issues. There hasn’t been an official explanation for the Biddeford flash drive error, delays in Bath, or problems with rescanning ballots in Bowdoinham.
Bellows has faced scrutiny in the past, notably in 2024 when she sought to remove President Donald Trump from the Maine primary ballot—a move that led to a chaotic legal battle that the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately overturned. Additionally, the mishandling of 250 absentee ballots in an Amazon package in Newburgh further complicated matters. As of now, Mr. Bellows still hasn’t offered a clear public explanation for the current situation.
