Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin is calling an end to the recount he requested in Maine's 2nd Congressional District race.
He lost that race to Democrat Jared Golden under the new ranked-choice voting system. Poliquin had the most votes in the election night count but failed to reach a majority of at least 50 percent. Golden was declared the winner after the second and third choices of other candidates were tallied.
On Friday, Dec. 14, Poliquin said it was time to end the recount, which was still underway after more than a week. Poliquin's campaign has to pay the costs associated with the recount.
In a statement on Facebook, Poliquin pointed out that the recount had confirmed that he won the "largest number of votes on Election Day."
“In fact, our volunteer and leadership team overseeing the recount reports my Election Day total has increased and I now hold over 2,200 more votes than my closest opponent."
Poliquin says he will continue to evaluate the legal process and the need for an appeal on the Constitutionality of rank voting.
The call to end the recount comes a day after a federal judge rejected Poliquin's lawsuit calling into question the constitutionality of ranked-choice voting.
Poliquin says there are still "unanswered questions on the use of rank voting, including ballots which voters state appeared in the wrong Congressional District."
Jared Golden issued a statement Friday on social media.
Golden said US District Court Judge Lance Walker's decision of calling off the recount means the transition process between Poliquin's staff and his new team can get underway.
"I also want to thank Bruce Poliquin for his four years of service in Congress and for running a spirited campaign. I now ask that his staff be allowed to begin the process of working with my incoming team to transition."
Ballot counters started packing up and carrying out boxes of ballots after Poliquin notified the Secretary of State's office at 11 a.m. Friday. The recount was in its seventh day -- counters were averaging about 25,000 ballots a day and had counted 165,000 of the 296,000 ballots cast in the Nov. 6 election.
Now Poliquin will have to pick up the tab for the recount because it did not change the outcome of the election. That cost hasn't been released yet.
Poliquin's attorney says the only course of action now is appeal Judge Walker's ruling in the First Circuit Court of Appeals -- an option Poliquin and his legal team are continuing to evaluate.