Missing, blank and forgotten ballots cause confusion in school board race

After Bucksport recount results in tie vote, RSU 25 race heads to a run-off

Bucksport town manager Jacob Gran, standing, points to a ballot as the recount takes place at the town office on Nov. 6. The recount was live-streamed. Screen grab by Emily Baer.

By Emily Baer

BUCKSPORT–What started as a routine bureaucratic exercise in democracy evolved into a dramatic–and still unsettled–election involving results delivered prematurely to candidates, a tie vote, and a missing ballot. 

The drama centered around this year’s faceoff between RSU 25 school board candidates Emily Fitzgerald and incumbent Keith Kneeland Jr., each seeking the seat’s three-year term.

The confusion started on Nov. 4 when, after the polls closed, Kneeland was announced as the winner of the race. Fitzgerald, too, was notified she had lost by a total of 58 votes.

“I wasn’t upset and I congratulated my opponent. I was proud of myself for running a campaign to completion,” she said in a community newsletter. She settled down with her husband to watch an episode of “NCIS,” nodded off to sleep, and awakened to another message: The town had forgotten to count absentee ballots for the race.

And now, with those ballots all counted, Fitzgerald was the winner by three votes. 

The following day, Kneeland called for a recount.

“It was a gut punch I will never forget,” Kneeland said of hearing he had lost. “I was in shock and denial. I was devastated. I called for the recount with no expectation of anything changing.”

Town officials convened candidate-selected counters on Nov. 6 in the town’s council chambers. The recount was open to the public and live-streamed on the town’s official YouTube account.

The mood was jovial at the beginning of the recount, with both candidates present. Each had selected three volunteer counters to recount the ballots. The counters were paired with a member of the opposing party at sorting tables in the center of the room that could be clearly monitored by town officials and members of the public.

They sorted ballots into piles of 50 and began the slow but steady process of recounting. Just under an hour and a half later, counting was completed.

Almost.

Town Manager Jacob Gran announced an unexpected twist: One ballot was missing.

“That one ballot is going to make a difference,” he announced. “What has been tabulated is 773 for Emily and 773 for Keith, and 187 blanks.”

Sounds of shock filled the chambers as Gran explained that the missing ballot was likely in the sealed state ballot boxes, an error that sometimes happens due to the fact that ballots in Bucksport are all sorted through one machine.

Gran dispatched Kelly Herrick, who serves as the town clerk and registrar of voters, as well as Bucksport Police Chief Sean Geagan to retrieve the state ballots and sort through them to find the missing municipal ballot. 

“It’s like finding a four leaf clover,” Gran said as the counters began looking through the unsealed ballots. The missing ballot would be easily differentiated from the others by a blue line at the top of the sheet, he said. The room quieted save for the sound of paper shuffling.

A few short minutes later the missing ballot was found.

It was blank.

A chorus of disbelief punctuated by “Oh, no!” and “Are you kidding me?” erupted from the audience. 

“The town does not have anything in our charter that specifies what happens in this situation. So, right now, we’ll end the night with a tie,” Gran told the audience. 

Without clear guidance on next steps, Gran explained that the town would solicit a recommendation for the town attorney and the Secretary of State’s office on how to proceed. 

On Friday morning, Nov. 7, the town announced via social media that, in accordance with state law, the candidates will be given seven days to determine whether either wishes to withdraw from the race. If both candidates choose to remain, the Town Council will be required to call a run-off election.

State election law requires that at least 30 days of absentee voting be provided prior to the run-off election, which would likely place the election date in mid to late December.

Neither candidate has announced plans to withdraw.