FARMINGTON — A recount of ballots cast earlier this month confirmed that an incumbent director in Regional School Unit 9 will retain his seat.
Two candidates returned nomination papers for two open seats on the RSU 9 (Mt. Blue) board of directors by March 23: incumbent J. Wayne Kinney and newcomer Christina Lynch Bobrow.
Two additional candidates — Ruth Gauvin and Iris Morgan — were supported by a write‑in campaign.
The ballots were counted after polls closed at 5 p.m., and the results were announced at the start of the Farmington town meeting. The totals gave the two write‑in candidates the lead: 74 votes for Gauvin, 67 for Morgan, 65 for Kinney and 56 for Bobrow.
Town Clerk Diane Dunham said Kinney requested a recount, which was conducted the morning of March 30.
In the intervening period, Dunham reviewed the Rules for Determining Voter Intent, which are based on case law and provisions of Title 21‑A, Maine’s election statutes.
The review produced revised totals and a new order of finish: 70 votes for Gauvin, 66 for Kinney, 62 for Morgan and 56 for Bobrow.
The results mean Gauvin and Kinney will join the board for three‑year terms, while Morgan will not.
The issue centered on voter intent. A small number of voters who cast ballots for the write‑in candidates neglected to check the box beside their selection. Dunham had included those ballots in the initial totals, interpreting the Rules for Determining Voter Intent to allow the counting of unchecked boxes.
However, Chapter 550: Rules for Determining Voter Intent specifically disqualifies such ballots.
Section 3 of the rules states, “A vote for a write‑in candidate is deemed invalid by statute and may not be counted if: … the voter writes in the name of a declared write‑in candidate in the blank space provided for a write‑in but does not mark the voting indicator.”
Dunham said the rule leaves no ambiguity about how such ballots must be treated.
“The voter must not only write the name of the candidate, but must also check mark the voting indicator next to the name of their candidate choice,” she wrote in an email Monday morning. “The failure to do both things directly results in the vote being counted as blank.”
