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AUGUSTA — The Secretary of State’s Office is conducting its first ever post-election audit of six legislative races this week, a pilot project that will become a routine part of future elections.
While the races have long been decided, the pilot program is designed to enhance voter confidence in election results. Workers are examining paper ballots and comparing them to election night results in close races.
“We have many recounts every year because we have such close races, but this is another tool in our toolkit to verify the vote and give voters confidence that our elections have the highest level of integrity,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Monday.
Starting in 2026, the audits will be part of the post-election vote verification process.
The pilot project will examine districts in which the margin was closer than 5% in November. Those include House Districts 17, 20, 55, 83 and 90 and Senate District 15.
The process is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta.
Maine is one of 15 states to implement post-election audits.
