'Winner' sees goof that may cost him [View All]

[MaineDem]

WINTERPORT — A candidate who won the Democratic nomination in House District 42 is being credited with noticing an election-night mistake that may cost him the race. Joe Brooks was declared the winner in his campaign against Donna Gilbert for the Democratic nomination. But Brooks said the outcome will probably be different because he noticed an apparent mistake while reviewing the tally sheets.

Brooks said his review of the transcripts in Winterport shows that instead of winning by nine votes, he may have lost by about 40 votes.

...

Selfridge said the town recorded that 239 voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election, when the actual number of ballots distributed was 227. She said it appeared that some votes had been added to the tally, and that some numbers may have been transposed from one column to the next.

Selfridge said Brooks pointed out some of the potential errors after he reviewed the tally sheets Wednesday night. But she said she can't review the actual ballots, because they've been sealed and shipped to Augusta.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060617electionoops.shtml

Paper ballots are so easy to double-check. I love the fact that paper and pencil are used in so many Maine towns.

Also, Joe Brooks is a good guy. Looks like human error may cost him this race.