PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Democrat Joe Biden surged to a statewide victory in Maine early Wednesday, winning at least three of the state’s four electoral votes in his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.
Biden collected a majority of first-place votes in the 1st Congressional District and in the statewide tally, good for three electoral votes. It was too early to call the winner of the 2nd Congressional District’s electoral vote. The count went on to Wednesday after Tuesday’s Election Day.
Four years ago, Maine split its electoral votes, when Trump also was awarded one vote to Hillary Clinton’s three after he won the rural, conservative district. The 2016 election marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.
At a polling place in Portland, voter Abdishakur Ali Artan said he voted for Biden because felt felt the former vice president wold be a better leader for immigrants in Maine and around the country.
“For immigrants, for Muslims,” Artan said. “I want to give Mr. Biden my vote.”
Maine is one of only two states that divide their electoral votes. The other is Nebraska.
The race marked the first time ranked choice voting was used in a presidential contest. But the election system’s provisions — for additional voting rounds, last-place candidate eliminations and reallocations of votes to ensure a majority winner — didn’t come into play this time in the statewide vote.
Ranked choice voting, approved by Maine voters in 2016, is often called an “instant runoff” since the goal is to achieve a majority winner without a second, runoff election.
