LIMESTONE, Maine — Because a warrant was not properly posted for the March 20 special election to replace a selectman who recently resigned, town officials have voided the results and must set a time and date for a new election.
The error was discovered after several citizens complained they were unable to vote during the relatively short noon to 6 p.m. window the polls were open on March 20.
In looking into those complaints to determine whether the election was handled properly, Police Chief and Interim Town Manager Stacey Mahan discovered, through speaking to the town’s attorney and officials at the Maine Municipal Association, that a warrant was not properly posted for the election.
“We posted that the election was taking place,” said Mahan, “but there are specific ways a warrant needs to be posted, and signed by a constable and board members. That step was missed, which made it an improper election.”
Ironically, there was no issue legally with how long the polls were open, since state law only requires a minimum of four hours for a special election.
According to Mahan, Patrick St. Peter, who won the election against Paul C. Durepo by 90 to 53, was sworn in the day after the election by Town Clerk Vicki Page.
The interim manager added that he still needs to work with MMA and the town attorney in order to determine whether or not St. Peter will still sit on the board until the rescheduled election.
Mahan said the town will need to reschedule another election with a properly posted warrant, and that the tentative plan is to hold it from noon to 8 p.m. so more voters can attend.
The town manager said the select board will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, in the town office to determine a date to reschedule the election. He said this will be the only item on the agenda.
“I’ve spoken to both of the individuals on the ballot,” said Mahan. “They understand, and it’s kind of frustrating for them and it’s certainly embarrassing for us, but we want to make sure we do this the right way.”
Mahan said he discovered there was an issue with the warrant the day after the election, but did not make any public announcements regarding the matter until March 29, as he wanted to discuss the issue with both MMA and the town’s attorney to determine exactly what was done incorrectly and how to move forward.
In his March 29 statement, which he delivered through the town’s newly established Facebook page, Mahan wrote that the statutory requirement to post a warrant was overlooked, and that he will notify the public as soon as a new plan is established.
“I’ll put it like this,” Mahan said on March 30, “we did B through Z right, but we forgot A. We don’t have a lot of situations where [selectmen] resign, and there are some things you don’t have to do in a special election. We posted that it would be happening, but we did not post a warrant.”
The reason for waiting roughly a week after discovering the error to make a public announcement, according to Mahan, is that he wanted confirmation from multiple outside sources before making a statement he may have to later retract.
“No one’s perfect,” Mahan concluded. “We’re all human and we all miss things. We dropped the ball and I take that responsibility. We want to make sure we go down the right road, and correct this the right way. And I think we’re on that road.”
