Over 12 hours after polls closed, multiple primary races in Maine—including Democratic and Republican gubernatorial contests and a Democratic congressional primary—remained unresolved as of Wednesday morning. The delay is anticipated due to Maine’s ranked-choice voting system, which can take more than a week to finalize results when no single candidate secures at least 50% of the vote.
According to the secretary of state’s office, election materials including paper ballots and memory sticks will be collected by law enforcement from all 487 municipalities and transported to Augusta, the state capital—a process that typically requires significant time.
These delayed results follow a contentious vote-counting period in California, which triggered unfounded fraud allegations from former President Trump. Maine’s procedure differs substantially; the state does not accept late-arriving ballots postmarked on Election Day, and mail-in ballot volume remains far lower than in California.
The gubernatorial race to replace Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has received limited attention compared to Maine’s prominent Senate contest between Democrat Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, and longtime Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
In the Democratic gubernatorial race, four candidates advanced to the second round of ranked-choice tabulation: Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state; Troy Jackson, a northern Maine logger and former state senator; Hannah Pingree, a former state representative; and Dr. Nirav Shah, who led the state’s coronavirus response.
Republican candidate Bobby Charles, who held an early lead Wednesday, will face two additional contenders in the ranked-choice runoff.
Maine’s Second Congressional District likely hosts the state’s most contentious general election matchup. Democratic candidates advancing to the next round include Joe Baldacci, a state senator; Matt Dunlap, the state auditor; and Jordan Wood, a former congressional aide.
Candidates acknowledged the extended timeline during primary-night communications. “We’re monitoring results closely and remain optimistic, though it may take days or even weeks,” Baldacci stated after polls closed.
By Wednesday morning, approximately 80% of ballots had been counted in races proceeding to ranked-choice phases—quicker than California’s sub-60% daily total but slower than South Carolina’s 95%+ count.
The ranked-choice system conducts successive elimination rounds, redistributing votes from lowest-performing candidates to voters’ next preferences until one candidate exceeds 50%. Once materials arrive in Augusta, data upload and scanning occur, though officials expect final tabulation completion before the June 19 Juneteenth holiday.