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The Upcoming Elections in Augusta: It’s not over yet

9 mins read

News that Congressman Bruce Poliquin is not only challenging in federal court the Second District outcome but is also requesting a recount is a reminder that the conclusion of some elections seem to be never ending.

It also brings to mind the fact that some of the most important elections have yet even to occur. They happen just in the next few days. They are for Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General. Soon to unfold in the State House.

In Maine, the Secretary of State’s position is one that has been filled by such notables as future governors Lewis Barrows and Kenneth Curtis.

Twelve of the last 14 years it has been held by Bar Harbor native Matt Dunlap, a former Old Town State Representative, a seat in recent years occupied by his wife Michelle Dunphy.

Maine is one of three states where the job is filled by the state legislature.

In Maine, this has ordinarily meant that a person representing the party with the most seats is likely to be elected. This has happened in nearly every case of the Secretary of State’s election except just 40 years ago. That was when Democrat Rodney Quinn benefited from a Republican defector to win election over former gubernatorial candidate Linwood Palmer even though the Republicans controlled the legislature and otherwise held their own in selecting the other officers.

The situation is a bit in contrast to that of New Hampshire where for the last 44 years Democrat William Gardner has held the position even though during most of that time the Granite State has been controlled by Republicans.
Gardner is best known nationally for his fierce strategic moves to preserve New Hampshire’s first in the nation presidential primary status.

Taking a page to some extent from Gardner’s book here in Maine has been two-term incumbent State Treasurer Terry Hayes. She has been elected twice to her position even though the Democratic party has held enough seats to elect someone else. There were just enough defections among their ranks so she was elected over incumbent Democrat Neria Douglas of Auburn in 2014 and then reelected in 2016. (Douglas was originally elected by taking Republican Bruce Poliquin’s place in 2012.)

She is running a third time but her prospects are dimmed by the fact that Democrats now have more overpowering control of the legislature than they have had in the past two elections. Thus, it is likely Democrat Henry Beck, a former state representative and lawyer from Waterville will probably prevail over her.

The election of Attorney General will certainly capture the most attention. Five candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination which will be tantamount to election.

Besides being the law enforcement officer and in some cases the chief counterweight to gubernatorial power it has also been a springboard to higher office.

Five of its occupants including most recently Gov. Brennan and Governor Elect Mills have gone on to win election as governor, six have been United States Senators and one, Nathan Clifford has, become a United States Supreme Court Justice. Two have become speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives, including one of the more powerful public figures from Maine to hold forth on the national stage, U.S. House Speaker Thomas Reed. His iron-fisted control over Congress during the 1890s was so preemptive that it won him the sobriquet of “Czar.” It is also why a treatise on parliamentary procedure he wrote, Reed’s Rules, is still relied upon as one of the leading procedural authorities in conducting public meetings. A statue commemorating him and his 6 foot 3 inch nearly 300 pound frame is one of the most prominent landmarks on Portland’s Western Promenade.

Though Maine is not alone in giving the legislature power to pick the Secretary of State and Treasurer, Maine does stand in a solitary position with respect to electing its attorney general. We are the only state where the legislature does that.

It has not, however, always been the case. When Maine became a state in 1820, the Attorney General was appointed by the Governor. (It certainly would be much to the envy of our outgoing governor, though Gov. LePage has advocated a popular election of the position.)

Indeed, in 1820, even county commissioners, county attorneys, clerks of court, sheriffs, registers of probate and various judges including judges of probate were all appointed by the governor, some even for lifetime terms.
Gradually through the 1840s and 1850s, in the aftermath of the Jacksonian democracy movement, Maine shifted to a popular election for most of these officials.

Even the so-called municipal court and “police” judges – a rough equivalent to our present district courts – would be popularly elected after 1856. The status of these switched back to a gubernatorial appointment system by 1873. Judges and registrars of probate, sheriffs, county commissioners, county treasurers and registers of deeds remain popularly elected.

The exception to this trend in favor of popular election and what makes Maine stand out is with the constitutional officers, the Secretary and Treasurer since 1820 and the Attorney General since 1856, having been the subject of legislative elections.

Our system, both in the caucuses which nominate candidates as well as in the elections by the joint convention of the legislature, requires a majority vote. There is something thus akin to instant runoff even though it is not ranked choice.

The runoff system or at least the requirement for a majority vote was most dramatically illustrated in modern times by the 1971 contest between incumbent Attorney General James Erwin, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger Waterville attorney Bruce Chandler. In the initial voting, Erwin was one vote ahead of Chandler 90 to 89. Three votes were cast for others.

Because incoming minority leader John Martin and other Democrats challenged the outcome on the grounds that the vote tabulation was not a majority and because they asserted that there were more ballots cast than there were members in attendance, a re-vote occurred. (It’s something Bruce Poliquin is also seeking in his own federal lawsuit over the Congressional race). In the second tabulation, the outcome was 92 to 88 in favor of giving Erwin, who had been most recently the GOP nominee for governor, a third term as attorney general.

Erwin’s close call at that time was significant in that even though the Republicans held a 13 vote legislative majority the result demonstrated that several in the GOP had jumped ship to vote for the Democratic candidate. In that election as in others for constitutional officers, one does not know for sure, however, who the defectors were. That is because the voting is by secret ballot.

This will also be the case in the forthcoming party caucuses and elections that soon unfold in the State House. These are ones that will be well worth monitoring not only for their immediate consequences but also for their long-term implications.

Paul H. Mills is a Farmington attorney well-known for his analyses and historical understanding of public affairs in Maine. He can be reached by e-mail: pmills@myfairpoint.net

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16 Comments

  1. Poliquin reminds me of when my then-young son would come home from a basketball game his team had lost by a point or two whining and blaming it on the refs or some rule he didn’t like. I would say “Well, you guys let it get so close that that was all it took to take you down.”

    Though the kid never had the audacity to suggest that the game be played over.

  2. Poliquin seems like a cry baby. My guess is if we had another vote he might get less votes. Out with the old and in with the new. lick your wounds and go home.

  3. I imagine if ranked choice voting went against the Democrats they would be crying for recounts, also. The reason they voted for it in the first place is so they can knife the third-party candidates Norman Bates style until all of the votes that spill out of them are enough to put them ahead.

    The non-Democrats and Republicans are now being used as blood banks for when the bleeding hearts start loosing too much blood.

    At least they found a creative use for them, I suppose. It beats continuing to let them have the false hope that one of their candidates other than Angus King will ever win. Now they know their votes are simply doomed from the start.

    Cheers,
    Shamus

  4. More like, the other team got to start the game with 10 points, and you had to try to make it up. All of this was pushed on CD2 by southern Maine (North Mass.). We didn’t want it, in excess of 20,000 votes. Farmington, being a small city-state outpost of Mass, of course approves of ANY way to manipulate the vote if it will help the Left. However, the rest of us up here don’t like the game-playing that’s gone on. And you’ll turn around and talk about ‘disenfranchisement’ somewhere else- how rich!! You practice it each and every election.

    Over 60% of Mainers, now seeing what RCV is, would reject it today. 3 D’s vs. 1 R. And he WON, by any normal method of voting…it was a rigged job. Golden STILL didn’t get 50% after they let everyone else vote again (of what, 50% who voted??? So – the whole thing was set up so someone could get 50% of half who vote (25%).. but he DIDN’T..what the heck??) Talk about manipulation of people’s good will! We won’t soon forget, no sir.

    This will either be found unconstitutional and be tossed, or will be repealed by petition & vote (sure we can find some MORE out of staters to get it on the ballot, just like you did)…Or, it will go national, where ALL small towns will find themselves without representation any longer. Then you can deal with something you’ve never seen…the Right marching. This won’t stand for very long, mark my words.
    #Resist
    #NotMyRepresentative
    #NotMyGovernor

  5. People who say Poliquin should just quit whining and go home, are probably some of the same ones saying, “But Hillary won the popular vote.” two years ago. If he wants to spend his own money on this, who cares, it’s his money, if a federal judge finds RCV wrong for the general election for a federal position, then so be it. It should be done over. Elections are not a vote until you win type of procedure.

  6. Let’s see, did your son’s team ever win then the refs counted missed shots after the game and said well some were close so we are giving the points. Then two weeks later declared a new winner? Poliquin won on election night. Ranked-choice voting is a scam, pushed by people who are still whining 8years later about our governor and 2years later about our president. If you can’t get your own way protest investigate obstruct and cry. If that doesnt work then change the rules. In every state in the country poliquin would have been either re elected or we would be having a run off. The people of the second district did not support RCV we should not be subjected to it’s foolishness. Portland passed it, let them keep it.

  7. From OK ….

    “If you can’t get your own way protest investigate obstruct and cry. If that doesnt work then change the rules.”

    Aren’t you writing about Poliquin?

  8. So maybe the state of Maine needs three districts and 3 Representatives. At this point nobody is happy. And Poliquin needs represent where he lives not where I live. I prefer Golden.

  9. Apparently some people don’t pay attention. The rules were changed after many years. The RCV scam was bought and payed for by out of state groups who knew how to play the Maine voters and system. A judge ruled the constitution only mentioned state elections so because it didn’t specifically say national then RCV was ok for just those. Huh? Every other constitional question, the ruling sides with precident. Precident being plurality. Why is it when the left gets a judge to rule in their favor that’s considered settled law? 62% of 2nd CD voters now say they would oppose RCV. Bruce poliquin is once again (as he always has) fighting for what his district wants. We don’t need another district we need a constitutional method of voting. Oh wait, we had that. If people want run offs, let’s do it. But this multiple votes for some voters and second choice getting the same weight as first is ridiculous.

  10. We’ve heard more out of Bruce in the past 2 weeks than we have in the past 4 years.The time to file suit against RCV was BEFORE the election but Bruce was covering his bets. He is desperately trying to stay plugged onto the government teat for on more year so he can get his lifetime pension and free medical care. That will supplement the fortunes he made while in office.

  11. Some opponents of RCV seem to have their arguments backed so far into a corner that they consider any referendum, court ruling, or funding not originating from north of Route 2 (excluding college towns) to be invalid.

    They may be onto something in one respect. Golden lives in CD2. Poliquin does not.

  12. @David Firsching get your facts straight. He couldn’t sue over rcv until after the election look it up. As far as hearing more in the last two weeks out of him you should stay more involved in whats going on in your state and country. I receive monthly emails from my representatives and whoever else I want to sign up with. The only reason to be upset with Poliquin is he may have lost his seat to a progressive liberal that only has one thing on his agenda and that is screwing up the direction this country is going in. He will help lifer dems take away tax cuts and turn health insurance into a bigger joke than it is now. Not to mention what they are trying to do to our Constitution. If you think for one minute they have our best interests in mind go talk to some indigenous people see what the government has done for them.

  13. Go Bruce Go. the Dems won by RCV which I consider cheating and unconstitutional. I feel my vote never counted and somebody else’s counted twice. What happened to one person, one vote. Oh yah~ a scam funded by out of state money. I will never consider Golden a winner by any means. He is a loser.

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