FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 14, 2024

Secretary Bellows announces ballot recount for legislative primary

AUGUSTA — A recount of ballots cast has been requested for the State Senate District 24 Democratic Primary, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced today.

The recount between Denise Tepler and Jean Guzzetti is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 20 in Augusta. Unofficial, preliminary results show Tepler with 1822 votes and Guzzetti with 1798 votes, a difference of 0.66%. Senate District 24 is made up of Sagadahoc County and Dresden in Lincoln County.

The deadline to request a recount in a non-ranked-choice-voting race in the June 11, 2024 State Primary Election is 5 p.m. on June 18.

There are no mandatory recounts in Maine election law, however in very close races – 1% or less apparent margin of victory for statewide or multi-county races or 1.5% or less apparent margin of victory for legislative races or single county races – no deposit is required. A deposit from the requesting candidate is required for races with larger margins of victory, increasing as the margin gets wider, however the deposit is returned if the apparent result is overturned.

The recount will take place at 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 13, in Augusta. To access the facility, enter through the door with a 14 over it (on the western side of the building, near the back), and Suite 13 is at the first doors on the left in that hallway.

Recounts are a open, public proceedings. In a recount, the representatives of each candidate and staff members from the Department of the Secretary of State manually review each paper ballot to determine the official vote tally.

The ballots will be retrieved by members of law enforcement from the Department of the Secretary of State’s Enforcement Services Division and delivered to the recount site, where they are stored in a secured room. All ballots are stored in tamperproof metal containers and are closed with specially numbered security seals and locks.

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