The Maine Secretary of State’s Office says a discrepancy in the results of a special state House election was caused by a clerk’s error and there is no evidence of fraud. The House District 19 recount was held Friday. Democrat Jean Noon of Sanford asked for the recount after she appeared to lose to Republican Matthew A. Harrington by 14 votes on Nov. 3. The Secretary of State’s Office then said Harrington actually won by 13 votes.
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says election clerks were mistakenly handing out ballots without confirming that each voter lived in District 19. He says Sanford City Clerk Sue Cote noticed the error on Election Day and corrected it.
He also says the discrepancy was not enough to change the election’s outcome.