It Starts at the Local Level
The certification process begins as soon as the polls close on Election Day, but not at the state capitol. It starts in each of Maine’s hundreds of municipalities. Local election clerks and their staff are the first to handle the results. After counting all the ballots cast—including in-person, absentee, and early votes—these local officials are responsible for preparing an official election return. This document is a summary of the votes cast in their town or city for every candidate and referendum question. According to Maine law, municipal clerks must file this attested return with the Secretary of State within two business days after the election. This initial step is the foundation of the entire statewide count, turning a collection of local results into
a single, comprehensive dataset.
The Secretary of State Takes the Reins
Once the municipal returns are submitted, the responsibility shifts to Maine's chief election official, the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State's office receives the returns from every municipality and begins the critical task of tabulation. This involves compiling all the votes from across the state into a single, official tally for each congressional race and other contests. The office is meticulous, and if an election return from a town appears to have errors or discrepancies when compared with other records, the Secretary of State has the authority to seek a corrected, certified copy from the local clerk to ensure accuracy. This phase also accounts for Maine's unique use of ranked-choice voting; if no candidate secures a majority in a federal race, the Secretary of State oversees the ranked-choice tabulation to determine the winner.
The Official Tabulation and Key Deadline
The process of counting and verifying is bound by a strict legal timeline. Maine law dictates that the Secretary of State has 20 days after the election to complete the statewide tabulation of returns. Once this work is finished, the Secretary of State creates a certified copy of the complete tabulation. This document is the official record of the election's outcome. The tabulation is then formally submitted to the Governor. This 20-day deadline is a crucial milestone, marking the point at which the raw data from Election Day has been fully processed, checked, and assembled into a final, authoritative summary, pending any recounts, which operate under their own specific procedures and timelines.
The Governor's Final Seal
The final step in Maine's certification process involves the state's highest executive officer. After receiving the certified tabulation from the Secretary of State, the Governor performs the last official act. The Secretary of State prepares an election certificate for each person who has won their race, and the Governor signs it. This signed document, known as a certificate of election, is the formal declaration that the named individual has been officially elected to office. This act serves as the final, conclusive certification of the results. According to Maine statute, this must happen within a "reasonable time" after the election. For congressional races, these certificates are what the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate officially recognize. This methodical, legally defined handoff from local clerks to the Secretary of State and finally to the Governor ensures a clear chain of custody and authority.
