Recount of Maine’s 2nd Congressional Race Set to Begin

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The recount of Maine's 2nd Congressional District race is slated to begin a month after Election Day.

Democratic Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said the recount will start Thursday and could last four weeks.

Democratic Rep-elect Jared Golden won with 142,440 votes while Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin received 138,931 votes.

Poliquin requested a recount and calls Maine's new voting system unconstitutional. He's also asked a federal judge to either declare him the winner or order a second election.

Maine's new voting system, approved in 2016, lets voters rank candidates on the ballot.

Poliquin had the most-first place votes by nearly 2,000 in the first round of tabulations. But he ultimately lost after additional tabulations that reassigned votes from eliminated third- and fourth-place candidates.