FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

AUGUSTA — Based on results of Election Day votes in the Republican Primary in State Senate District 16, ranked-choice tabulation will be required, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced today.

With three candidates, this June 14, 2022 Primary Election race is conducted by ranked-choice voting, which requires that the winner must receive more than 50% of the vote. For more information about how ranked-choice races are tabulated, visit our RCV Resources webpage.

In Senate District 16, first-choice votes were as follows:
846 (44.22%) for Michael D. Perkins,
732 (38.26%) for  Kevin D. Kitchin, and
335 (17.51%) for Mark R. Andre.

Second-choice votes for Mr. Andre, the initial third place candidate, will be added to the first-choice votes for Mr. Perkins and Mr. Kitchin to determine which candidate achieved more than 50% of votes cast in the final round.

Senate District 16 is comprised of the city of Waterville and the towns of Albion, Fairfield, Oakland and Winslow.

Ballot materials will be collected by state law enforcement officers.

Tabulations are open, public proceedings, and ballots will be tabulated starting at 1:30 pm on Thursday, June 16 and is expected to be completed in that afternoon. The tabulation will take place in 103 A and B on the first floor of the Burton M. Cross State Office Building, next to the State House in Augusta.

To maintain ballot integrity, Secretary of State Department staff members log, unseal and upload all the memory devices from the municipalities before loading all the votes into the election results reporting program and then certifying the results to ensure accuracy. All municipalities in this district count ballots using tabulators.

A full explanation of the process is available in the published rules for ranked choice voting here: 250c535-2018-230-complete.pdf (maine.gov).