Maine's 2nd District ranked-choice vote tally begins [View all]

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Source: Portland Press Herald

AUGUSTA — Election officials began the painstaking task Friday of processing hundreds of thousands of ballots cast in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District as they prepare for the nation’s first ranked-choice voting tabulation to decide a federal race.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin heads into the weekend with a narrow lead of roughly 2,000 votes over Democratic challenger Jared Golden, according to several unofficial estimates. But political insiders, an exit poll and even bettors suggest Poliquin’s lead could evaporate as the second and third choices of voters are added to the tallies of the two frontrunners during the ranked-choice tabulation process.
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If Poliquin, of Oakland, tops 50 percent of the vote in the second round of counting expected to take place next week, he will begin a third term in Congress.

If Golden reaches that magic number, however, he would be the first member of Congress in history to win under a ranked-choice voting system.

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Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/09/maines-2nd-district-ranked-choice-vote-tally-begins/