Maine Ranked Choice Voting Delays Spark Intense Political Backlash
Maine’s recently concluded primary tabulation process has ignited sharp political criticism after extensive reporting delays plagued the state’s ranked choice voting system. The counting process, finished more than a week following election day, faced logistical hurdles and administrative errors, prompting calls for system reform from top political contenders.
Key Highlights
- Tabulation results were delayed for 1.5 weeks after election day due to widespread administrative issues.
- Punctuation errors and missing spreadsheets in the Democratic congressional race halted automated sorting.
- High municipal clerk turnover, with some on the job for just 1 month, exacerbated the data gathering delays.
- State officials are auditing the total financial cost incurred by taxpayers for the prolonged tabulation process.
It was a week and a half after election day when ranked choice voting wrapped up.
“Bluntly, Maine voters deserve better. This system just does not work. It has been delayed, unwieldy. It is impractical. It is unconstitutional,” Republican nominee for governor, Bobby Charles said.
Even before he was officially named the winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary, Charles was aiming for the process during a news conference right outside where the tabulation was happening.
The tabulation itself, not wrapping up until the early morning hours on Friday, caused criticism and frustration.
“I get it, you know, it’s a good question, but it takes so long so that we can make sure we have it right,” Chief Deputy Secretary of State Kate McBrien said.
The tabulation was overseen by McBrien as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was running in the Democratic primary for governor.
Maine’s Total Coverage asked McBrien a number of questions about the delays in the process, including the two hour heads up turning into a four and a half hour wait.
Election staff said all week that they would give campaigns and the media a two-hour warning before they plan to run the tabulation and announce results. That two-hour warning was announced at 9:17 p.m. on Thursday, but the first race wasn’t announced until 1:43 a.m. on Friday.
McBrien said there was a memory stick from one town that was reported but not pulled into the appropriate spreadsheet; then there was a clerical error.
“We found the period missing on the spreadsheet. Again, had to identify exactly where that issue was. Correct it,” McBrien said.
This punctuation issue, from the Democratic race for Maine’s second congressional district.
One candidate had a period after their middle initial in all columns but one; because the period was missing from one column, the tabulation machine read it as an entirely different candidate, causing a delay.
Other issues that came up regarding memory sticks. Some municipalities sent memory sticks with local results but not memory sticks with statewide results needed to run ranked choice tabulation for governor and Congress.
“We’ve actually seen a high turnover in the number of clerks in Maine towns recently. And so, believe it or not, we even had some clerks who were only like maybe 1 month on the job right before the election,” McBrien said.
The Secretary of State’s Office is currently calculating how much money this tabulation cost the Maine taxpayer.
AUGUSTA, Maine β
Election staff said all week that they would give campaigns and the media a 2-hour warning before they plan to run the tabulation and announce results. That 2-hour warning was announced at 9:17 p.m. on Thursday, but the first race wasn’t announced until 1:43 a.m. on Friday.
Future Outlook
As the Secretary of State’s Office tallies the financial burden of the extended timeline, the debate over ranked choice voting is expected to intensify in the state legislature. Policymakers face mounting pressure to address systemic inefficiencies, improve training regimens for incoming municipal clerks, and refine ballot processing technology to prevent minor punctuation errors from halting statewide election outcomes in future cycles.
FAQs
Why were the Maine primary election results delayed?
The final results were delayed by 1.5 weeks due to administrative errors, incorrect data transfers from municipal memory sticks, and a specific typographical error involving a missing period in a candidate’s name that confused the electronic tabulation software.
What caused the internal tabulation machine error?
In the Democratic race for the second congressional district, a candidate had a period omitted from their middle initial in a single column of a spreadsheet. Because of this discrepancy, the scanning equipment misread the input as a completely distinct candidate, forcing staff to manually troubleshoot.
Who managed the primary election tabulation process?
Chief Deputy Secretary of State Kate McBrien managed the official tabulation process. This measure was implemented because Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was actively running as a candidate in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
