AUGUSTA, Maine - Election balloting is over, but the process of determining voter intent goes on. Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap says the apparent losers in three close Senate races have requested recounts to determine if the ballot tallies are accurate.
Maine officials will conduct recounts in three Senate races, with the first beginning Friday in Augusta. Dunlap says his staff is preparing to conduct a review of the votes to ensure that all ballots were counted properly.
"The recount process, generally speaking, it's a pretty scientific process," he says. "It does answer the final question as to how it turned out."
Thus far, a request has been received in Senate District 11, where Democrat Jonathan Fulford challenged incumbent Senate Republican Leader Michael Thibodeau. Thibodeau, who was nominated last week to become the next president of the Maine Senate, is the unofficial winner in that race with a 115-vote lead.
A recount will also be conducted for Senate District 21, where unofficial results show Democrat Nathan Libby defeating Republican Patricia Gagne by 64 votes, and in Senate District 25, where Democrat Catherine Breen beat out Republican Cathleen Manchester by just seven votes.
If the unofficial results hold, Republicans will hold control of the Senate with 20 members, compared to 15 Democrats. Ultimately, the House and Senate are the final determiners of their members, but Dunlap says there has never been an instance in which a party has used its majority votes to overturn a contested recount.
"I don't think it ever has, because once you do that, well, then you set the precedent, and then you're throwing your future disputed races completely at the mercy of the future majority party that's on the other side," Dunlap says. "So both sides have very clearly followed election law."
Due to the Veterans Day holiday, candidates have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to request a recount. Dunlap said no requests have been filed by House candidates.