Why Complete Election Results in Maine Could Take More Than a Week
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Maine's primary election results for governor and a competitive House seat may take over a week to finalize due to the state's ranked-choice voting system.
- Ranked-choice voting requires multiple rounds of counting, reallocating votes from eliminated candidates until one surpasses 50%, which extends the tabulation time.
- Unlike California's recent delays, Maine's extended counting period was anticipated and is part of the established process used since 2018.
- Paper ballots and memory sticks from all 487 municipalities are collected by law enforcement and transported to the state capital, Augusta, where data is uploaded and scanned, contributing to the lengthy counting process.
- Despite criticism from some conservative groups labeling ranked-choice voting as complex and costly, there has been minimal public outcry in Maine following Tuesday's election.