Attorneys for Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin are asking a federal judge to order a new election in the 2nd Congressional District race.
The new court filing is part of Poliquin's lawsuit challenging the legality of Maine's ranked-choice voting law. The Republican's attorneys have made an array of claims against the law, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
But now the attorneys are asking U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker to grant a permanent injunction against the law and to declare Poliquin the winner because he led the race before the ranked-choice runoff swung the victory to Democrat Jared Golden.
Poliquin's attorneys say that if the judge won't declare Poliquin the winner then he should order a new election.
The request is the latest development in Poliquin's two-pronged attempt to undo Golden's apparent victory, and more broadly, invalidate a ranked-choice voting system that Maine voters approved two years ago.
The Republican has also requested a recount, a process that’s expected to take about a month to complete.
Judge Walker will hold oral arguments in the case Dec. 5.
Originally published Nov. 28, 2018 at 10:34 a.m. ET.
