FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2010
Contact: Matthew Dunlap
207-626-8400

Secretary of State Announces Senate District 7 Recount Results and Schedule for Upcoming Recounts

AUGUSTA, MAINE Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced today that a recount of results from the General Election in Senate District 7 was conducted and completed today under the supervision of the Secretary of State's Office.

At the conclusion of the recount in Senate District 7, Lawrence Bliss (D) of South Portland remained the winner. Joseph C. Palmieri (R) of South Portland requested the recount after unofficial results from Election Day indicated that he lost the election. The recount determined that 9,172 votes were cast for Bliss, while 9,097 were cast for Palmieri.

There are five candidate recounts and one statewide ballot question recount remaining to be completed. Details and scheduling information are noted in the table below.

All recounts are conducted at the Department of Public Safety headquarters on Commerce Drive in Augusta. Recounts are a public proceeding and members of the media may observe. State law requires the State Police to collect the ballots for the recounts and keep them in the secure State Police facility until the recounts have been completed. The ballots are stored in tamperproof metal containers and are closed with specially numbered security seals and locks.

In a recount, the representatives of each candidate and staff members from the Department of the Secretary of State manually review each ballot to determine the official vote tally. Recounts are requested based upon the unofficial preliminary results.

If a recount produces enough disputed ballots to affect the outcome of the election, the Maine House of Representatives would determine which candidate to seat in House races. The Maine State Senate would determine which candidate to seat in State Senate races. The Supreme Judicial Court would make a determination in County races and in Statewide Referenda.

Recount Schedule and Results

Office/Question	District	Candidate (Party)	Unofficial Results	Official Results	Recount Date/Time
Senate	7	Joseph C. Palmieri (R) Lawrence Bliss (D)	9,097 9,163		Completed
House	37	Madeleine Gay Leach (R) Ralph Chapman (D)	2,228 2,260		Wednesday, November 17th at 1:00 p.m.
House	109	Gary C. Foster (R) Anne P. Graham (D)	2,100 2,138		Monday, November 15th at 1:00 p.m.
House	131	James D. Libby (R) Robert M. Hunt (D)	2,058 2,094		Tuesday, November 16th at 10:00 a.m.
District Attorney	7	Matthew Foster (R) Carletta M. Bassano (D)	13,552 14,188	?	To Be Determined
Waldo County Commissioner	1	Donald P. Berry, Sr. (R) Betty I. Johnson (D)	2,879 2,887	?	To Be Determined
Ballot Question 1		Yes No		?	To Be Determined

NOTE: The first candidate listed in each race was the apparent losing candidate on Election Day--based on unofficial results--and is therefore the candidate who requested the recount.

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