AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Latest on Maine’s primary elections (all times local):
1:30 a.m.
A Marine Corps veteran and state lawmaker has the most first-place votes but it’ll take additional tabulations to determine if he’s earned the right to challenge Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
Jared Golden, of Lewiston, had collected about 50 percent of the vote with about two-thirds of the votes counted. If there’s no majority, then the ballots will be shipped to the state capital for additional tabulations next week under ranked-choice voting.
Lucas St. Clair, who pushed for a national monument, was trailing about 10 percentage points behind Golden. Book dealer Craig Olson trailed in third.
Golden joined the Marines after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was twice elected to the Maine House.
___
1:20 a.m.
The Associated Press called Maine’s Republican gubernatorial primary for businessman Shawn Moody, but the Democratic primary wasn’t being called because no candidate was close to a majority.
Because no candidate in Tuesday’s primary could be declared the outright winner, more tabulations are required next week under the state’s new ranked-choice voting system.
Maine residents have rejected a legislative delay of ranked-choice voting, meaning the system will be used in federal elections in November in the state.
The voting system is used in 11 local jurisdictions but was used for the first time in a U.S. statewide primary on Tuesday.
__
1:10 a.m.
Maine residents have rejected a legislative delay of ranked-choice voting, meaning the system will be used in federal elections in November in the state.
The voting system is used in 11 local jurisdictions but was used for the first time in a U.S. statewide primary on Tuesday.
Mainers also voted on a separate ballot question that nullified a legislative attempt to delay the system.
The system lets voters rank candidates from first to last; multiple voting rounds assure a majority winner.
The system initially approved by Maine voters in 2016 has faced legal challenges in addition to legislative roadblocks. On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Paul LePage announced he “probably” won’t certify the primary election results, but the state’s top election official said that won’t change anything.
12:30 a.m.
Republican businessman Shawn Moody has won the right to run to succeed Maine’s Republican firebrand Gov. Paul LePage.
Moody won an outright majority of the vote, making him the winner of his primary. With a majority, there’s no need for additional rounds of voting under Maine’s ranked-choice voting system.
It’s a different story in the Democratic primary.
In that race, no clear majority winner was emerging.
When there’s no majority, the ballots will be shipped to Augusta for additional rounds of voting next week in which the last-place candidate will be eliminated and votes reallocated. The process is repeated until there’s a majority winner.
This was the biggest test of the voting system. Before Tuesday, it had never before been used in a statewide primary election.
___
11:20 p.m.
Voters in a central Maine city have decided not to recall a mayor who came under criticism after using social media to tell one of the survivors of a Florida school shooting to “Eat it.”
Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro faced the recall vote on Tuesday. He directed the April tweet at David Hogg, one of the survivors of a shooting that killed 17 students at a Parkland, Florida, high school.
Hogg is an advocate for strengthening gun laws. Isgro was tweeting in response to a Fox News decision to stand behind pro-gun rights commentator Laura Ingraham in the wake of an advertiser boycott.
Isgro has made the case that the failed recall attempt was actually an effort to get him out of office so he can’t veto the city’s budget. City Manager Michael Roy has disputed that claim.
__
8:50 p.m.
History is being made in slow motion in Maine where ranked-choice voting faces its biggest test yet.
Democrats and Republicans ranked candidates for governor from first to last in Tuesday’s primaries in a system that’s sometimes called “instant runoff” voting in 11 local jurisdictions where it’s currently in use.
But there’s nothing instant about Maine’s process.
If there’s no majority winner, then the ballots will be shipped to Augusta for additional tabulations. Under the system, last place candidates are eliminated and votes reallocated until there’s a majority winner.
If it comes down to that, then Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said winners won’t be announced until sometime next week.
Mainers who approved the system in 2016 also voted Tuesday on whether to use the system in November for federal races.
___
8 p.m.
Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine is preparing to face a challenge from two lesser-known candidates in the November election.
Republican State Sen. Eric Brakey was unchallenged in his primary election Tuesday after an opponent, Max Linn, was disqualified after election officials determined his nomination petition contained fraudulent signatures. Portland Democrat Zak Ringelstein was also unopposed.
King was first elected in 2012 after Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe abruptly abandoned her re-election bid, citing corrosive partisanship in Washington.
King said in announcing his formal re-election bid a few weeks ago that he wants to continue his effort to serve as a bridge between the polarized parties. He said there are “tender shoots of bipartisan cooperation” that need to be encouraged.
___
12:52 p.m.
Maine’s top election official says Republican Gov. Paul LePage can’t stop primary election results from moving forward.
Democratic Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said the governor could refuse to sign a proclamation of the results. But he said the governor doing so won’t prevent nominations from taking effect.
LePage on Tuesday says he “probably” won’t certify results from the nation’s first ranked-choice primary.
But Dunlap says Maine law only talks about certifying who is actually elected to Maine office.
On Tuesday, Maine voters are deciding who will face off in November gubernatorial and legislative elections. Voters will also decide whether to keep ranked-choice voting for future primaries and federal elections.
___
12:25 p.m.
Maine’s Republican governor says he “probably” won’t certify election results from the nation’s first ranked-choice primary.
Gov. Paul LePage raised the possibility in an interview with WCSH-TV, saying he may leave it up to the courts to decide the outcome.
Democratic Secretary of State Matt Dunlap’s spokeswoman said Dunlap is seeking clarification from the attorney general’s office.
LePage called the voter-approved system the “most horrific thing in the world.”
Maine voters on Tuesday are also voting on whether to keep ranked-choice voting for future primaries and federal elections.
A spokesman for the ranked choice voting campaign said it’s outrageous that a governor would question the validity of election results.
LePage’s office told The Associated Press that “voters need to vote” Tuesday.
___
9:50 a.m.
Residents in Maine who are headed to the polls are using ranked-choice voting for the first time in a statewide primary in the U.S., and they’re also deciding whether to carry it forward to the November federal elections.
Voters are ranking their candidate preferences from first to last, and the election is over if one candidate wins a majority on Tuesday. If not, then the ballots will be shipped to the state capital for additional rounds of tabulations next week.
A field of seven Democrats and four Republicans are vying to fill the office that’s being vacated by firebrand Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
Most voters on Tuesday seemed to grasp the new ballot.
David Kuchta (KUK-tuh), of Portland, said he wasn’t confused. The Democrat joked that he can “count to seven and they can do the math on the other end.”
___
12:30 a.m.
Maine voters have plenty of candidates to choose from to replace firebrand Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
A field of 11 Democrats and Republicans are seeking party nominations for the opportunity to succeed the term-limited governor.
Tuesday’s primary elections are being decided for the first time with ranked-choice voting.
Voters will rank their candidate preferences from first to last, and the election is over if one candidate wins a majority.
If not, the ballots will be shipped to Augusta for additional rounds of voting next week. The last-place candidate will be eliminated and votes reallocated. There can be as many rounds as necessary until a candidate gets a majority.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.