The recount of the Maine 2nd Congressional District race is set to begin this Thursday in Augusta.
The Maine secretary of state’s office says the recount, which was requested by Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, will take place during regular business hours with a break for the Christmas holiday. State election officials say the process is expected to take four weeks.
According to unofficial results, Democrat Jared Golden won the race by roughly 3,000 votes after the nation’s first ranked-choice voting runoff in a federal race. Poliquin, who has refused to concede, asserts that he won on Election Night because he held a lead before the runoff.
In addition to requesting a recount, Poliquin has filed a federal lawsuit, which maintains that ranked-choice voting is illegal.
Attorneys representing Poliquin will be back in court this later this week. They are asking U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker to grant a permanent injunction against the law and declare Poliquin the winner or, failing that, to call for a new election.
