The ranked-choice count that confirmed U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s victory in Maine’s 2nd District took extra time and money, and a state lawmaker wants to change rules around blank ballots to avoid that in the future.

Rep. David Boyer, R-Poland, said he filed a bill for the next legislative session to not require a ranked-choice count in a two-person race if one candidate does not receive at least 50 percent of votes due to blank ballots. Boyer also said he thinks a runoff is not needed if the number of votes received by a declared write-in candidate is not enough to defeat the winner.

It’s a response to the strange race between Golden and state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, that saw a ranked-choice count stretch into a fourth day last Friday. That evening, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows confirmed that the Democratic incumbent received 50.35 percent of votes to 49.65 percent for Theriault, who has also asked for a recount.

Golden declared victory a day after the Nov. 5 election following the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ calling the race for him. Bellows then said a ranked-choice count was needed because neither candidate got more than 50 percent of votes in the initial count when including 12,635 ballots that did not indicate a first choice and were considered blank.

The race was also complicated by an official write-in candidate, Diana Merenda of Surry, who got 420 votes after focusing her campaign on opposing America’s financial support of Israel’s military actions. Golden led Theriault by about 2,150 votes after the first round of counting, and his margin expanded to roughly 2,700 after the ranked-choice tally.

Ranked-choice races typically involve at least three candidates whose names appear on the ballot, but Merenda’s name was not on the ballot as a write-in choice. If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of votes, then a runoff eliminates the last-place candidate while tabulating the second-choice votes for candidates to determine the winner.

Under state rules in place since Maine began using the ranked-choice method in 2018, voters can rank as many or as few candidates as they would like. Those who only rank a second choice have their votes initially recorded as blank. If the race goes to a ranked-choice count, those second choices are counted as first choices.

Boyer said he is not sure that he wants to tweak the rules on blank ballots with no first choice and subsequent rankings. He thinks Merenda’s vote total is proof she would not have significantly changed Golden’s lead and that his solution balances practicality with letting write-in candidates “get their voices heard.”

“It’s a bad use of tax dollars when it’s clearly a two-person race,” Boyer said.

Merenda said she opposes Boyer’s proposal. She said the current ranked-choice system “is the will of the people, and that is how it should work.”

Ranked-choice voting has been a sore spot for Maine Republicans since Golden unseated former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2018, erasing a first-round deficit thanks to his second-choice support from backers of two independent candidates. Since then, Democrats have generally backed the voting method while Republicans oppose it.

Bellows spokesperson Emily Cook said Tuesday her office would want to see Boyer’s bill before taking a position on it. Boyer, who serves on the Legislature’s elections committee, said he has spoken with several Democratic colleagues who he thinks are open to considering his idea.

“I’m not opposed to the idea if it’s in line with what our current laws are, but I want to hear from the secretary of state’s office,” Rep. Laura Supica, D-Bangor, said.

State Rep Austin Theriault, left, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. Press Herald file photos

Recounts for a dozen close Maine elections are continuing this week, including the 2nd Congressional District race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Jared Golden and state Rep. Austin Theriault.

Golden had more votes than Theriault on election night, but the race went on a runoff under Maine’s ranked choice voting system, which requires someone to earn more than 50% of the vote to win. More than 12,000 ballots were left blank, which placed Golden below 50%.

Last week’s runoff confirmed Golden as the winner with 50.4% of the vote, but Theriault requested a hand recount of the nearly 391,600 ballots, which could take weeks to finish.

State election officials are also overseeing recounts in 11 state legislative races – an unusually high number that will take at least through Monday to complete. Two of those are Senate races, while the rest are for House seats.

Four other recounts have already confirmed the election winner, according to the secretary of state’s office, all of them Democrats.

Independent challenger Sharon Frost unseated Republican incumbent Rep. Daniel Newman in House District 58 in the Belgrade region by 43 votes, 3,159 to 3,116. The margin decreased by one vote as a result of Tuesday’s recount.

Democrat Stephan Bunker beat Republican Randall Gauvin in House District 75 in the Farmington area by only seven votes, 2,317 to 2,310, in Tuesday’s recount. Bunker led by 10 votes on election night.

In House District 96, Rep. Michele Lajoie, D-Lewiston, was reelected by 39 votes, 2,556 to 2,517, over Republican challenger Kerryl Clement, also of Lewiston. Friday’s recount margin is three votes more than the election night margin of 2,550 to 2,514.

Democrat Kilton Webb, of Durham, won the House District 98 seat by 55 votes, 2,996 to 2,941, over Republican Guy Lebida of Bowdoin. Webb lost one vote in Monday’s recount, while Lebida’s total did not change.

Locked boxes filled with ballots are seen amid the ranked choice runoff in the 2nd Congressional District race between Jared Golden and Austin Theriault. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The House District 141 race between incumbent Republican Lucas Lanigan and Democratic challenger Patricia Kidder, which ended in a tie on election night, is schedule for Thursday at 1 p.m.

Lanigan was arrested and charged with aggravated domestic violence assault right before the election. An arrest warrant says he allegedly grabbed his wife by the neck after she confronted him about an affair. His wife has asked the judge and district attorney to drop the charges, but prosecutors said the case will proceed, because it’s common for victims to recant after filing charges.

The House District 44 recount, which was scheduled for Wednesday, was rescheduled to a future date that has not yet been announced.

Here is the schedule for the remaining recounts:

• Wednesday at 9 a.m., House District 52, in the Bowdoinham area, between incumbent Democratic Rep. Sally Cluchey and Republican David Guilmette.

• Wednesday at 1 p.m., House District 81, in the Bethel area, between Democrat Joan Beal and Republican Peter Wood.

• Thursday at 9 a.m., House District 142, representing Sanford and part of Springvale, between Democrat Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio and Republican Amy Bell.

• Friday at 9 a.m., Senate District 8, representing Orono and eastern Penobscot County, between incumbent Democrat Sen. Mike Tipping and Republican Leo Kenny.

• Monday at 9 a.m., Senate District 15, representing the Augusta area, between Republican state Rep. Dick Bradstreet of Vassalboro and Democratic state Rep. Raegan LaRochelle.

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People sun themselves and a few people swim in the water at a significantly less crowded Old Orchard Beach on Sept. 6. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Maine saw about 9% fewer tourists this summer compared to 2023, in part because of less available housing and fewer visitors staying with friends and family or in second homes.

The state’s tourism office released its summer visitor tracking report and found that while there were fewer tourists this past summer, they spent more. People staying in paid accommodations spent more than usual, resulting in only a slight decrease in overall spending compared to last year.

The total direct spending for summer 2024 was $5,152,155,100.

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Tourists also spent less time in Maine. The total number of visitor days dropped 15.5%, largely because not as many people stayed for long periods of time in second homes or with friends and family, according to the report.

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