Maine election officials say a pivotal congressional race in the state must go to ranked choice counting to determine a winner.

Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate known for defying his party, led by a thin margin over Republican Austin Theriault on Friday in a race that was still too early to call days after voting ended. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said late Thursday that neither candidate broke 50% of the total vote, and that means ranked ballots must be counted. The Associated Press has not called the race.

Ranked voting typically comes into play in races with more than two candidates on the ballot. Golden and Theriault were the only candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race, but writing in candidates was an option, and some voters used it.

Theriault said on Thursday that he was requesting a recount in the election, although the results were not tabulated yet at that time. A spokesperson for the Golden campaign said the recount is reasonable but the ranked counting is unnecessary.

“State Rep. Theriault has asserted his right to a recount by hand and Congressman Golden agrees to it. So let’s just do it, rather than incur the delays and expenses of a ranked-choice run-off,” the campaign said in a statement.

The Theriault campaign signaled Friday that it was supportive of the ranked count.

“There is a process in place and we look forward to the process unfolding according to the law,” campaign manager Shawn Roderick said.

In ranked choice voting, the second choices of voters who picked a losing candidate are redistributed to the higher finishers.