Republicans call on Maine Secretary of State to remove worker from ballot count

[jpak]

Source: Portland Press Herald

The director of the Maine Republican Party called on Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap to reassign an employee involved in counting ballots as part of the nation’s first ranked-choice ballot tabulations in a congressional race.

Maine Republican Party executive director Jason Savage said Andrew Roth-Wells, a worker in Dunlap’s office, should not handle ballots cast in the 2nd Congressional District race because he “liked” tweets that showed support for Democrat Jared Golden. Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin appeared to have a narrow, roughly 2,000-vote advantage over Golden after Election Day, but the race is subject to a ranked-choice tabulation because neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes.

“Highly partisan staff should not be handling ballots in this process. It’s simple,” Savage said in a press release issued Monday morning. “Someone who cheers for Jared Golden to be Maine’s next Congressman can not be put forward as an impartial participant.”

This is the second time in three days that either Republican officials or Poliquin’s campaign have raised questions about the ranked-choice voting tabulation process. Over the weekend, a Poliquin spokesman campaign raised concerns about unlocked ballot boxes and other ballot-handling issues as Dunlap’s office processes the ballots ahead of the ranked-choice tabulations expected later this week.

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Read more: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/11/12/republicans-call-on-maine-secretary-of-state-to-remove-worker-from-ballot-count/

[rzemanfl]

1. Meanwhile, further down the coast, Repukes talk out of the other side their

lying pie holes.

[bitterross]

2. And how many of them recuse. Hypocrites!

They don't recuse themselves from anything and yet they want others to do it. Fuck you!

[kag]

3. Also meanwhile...

A guy who participated in a massive fraud scheme that is now under investigation by the FBI, and who stated publicly that the Mueller investigation should be shut down, and even offered suggestions on how to do it is our new Acting Attorney General.

I despise these assholes SO much! I swear the GOP needs to just go away.

[Maine-i-acs]

4. Maine state law: nobody counts ballots alone

Always done with witnesses and reps from both parties when the ballots come out.

This is a paranoid smokescreen by the Poliquin camp.

If weaselly Poliquin wants to see Partisan handling of ballots during an election: Reference Ohio / Blackwell 2004.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

5. Liking tweets from Golden is not "highly partisan"

That's just dumb. Poliquin is being a total baby about this.