Primary vote recount requested for southern Maine Senate district
The vote count will determine the race between two Democratic candidates vying for State Senate District 24.
Updated: 5:59 pm EDT June 14, 2024
There were some surprises in the June 11 primary election, but one remains undecided. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Friday announced a recount of the Democratic primary for state Senate District 24 between Denise Tepler and Jean Guzzetti of Bath. That district covers the towns of Richmond, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Dresden, Perkins Township, Swan Island, Topsham, Bath, West Bath, Arrowsic, Phippsburg, Georgetown and Woolwich. The preliminary count showed Tepler with 1,822 votes and Jean Guzzetti with 1,798 votes. The difference of 24 votes represents 0.66% of the voter turnout, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. The recount, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 20 at 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 13 in Augusta. During the process, each candidate’s representatives and staff members in Bellows’ office review each paper ballot individually. Reached by phone Friday, Denise Tepler told Maine’s Total Coverage that she “completely understands Jean’s desire for a recount” and she believes every vote should be counted. likewise. WMTW reached out to Jean Guzzetti for a statement but has not yet heard back. The deadline to request a non-ranked election for the June 11 primary is Tuesday, June 18 at 5 pm. The candidate who wins the Democratic nomination will face Republican candidate Jeffrey Pierce of Dresden in November.
AUGUSTA, Maine—
There were some surprises in the June 11 primary election, but one remains undecided.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Friday announced a recount of the Democratic primary for state Senate District 24 between Denise Tepler and Jean Guzzetti of Bath.
That district covers the towns of Richmond, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Dresden, Perkins Township, Swan Island, Topsham, Bath, West Bath, Arrowsic, Phippsburg, Georgetown and Woolwich.
The preliminary count showed Tepler with 1,822 votes and Jean Guzzetti with 1,798 votes. The difference of 24 votes represents 0.66% of the voter turnout, according to the Office of the Secretary of State.
The recount, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 20 at 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 13 in Augusta. During the process, representatives for each candidate and staff members in Bellows’ office review each paper ballot individually.
Denise Tepler, reached by phone Friday, told Maine’s Total Coverage that she “completely understands Jean’s desire for a recount” and believes all votes should be counted equally.
WMTW reached out to Jean Guzzetti for a statement but has not yet heard back.
The deadline to request an unranked election for the June 11 primary is Tuesday, June 18 at 5 p.m.
The candidate who wins the Democratic nomination will face Republican candidate Jeffrey Pierce of Dresden in November.
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