BANGOR, Maine (AP) A lawyer for the winner of the nation’s first ranked-balloting in a congressional election says a push for a new election is the product of “sour grapes” by the loser.
Democrat Jared Golden defeated Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine in the first race to use a ranked style of voting. Poliquin won the first round of voting, but Golden pulled ahead when second-choice ballots were counted.
Poliquin has been critical of the ranked method, which he has described as a “black box computer algorithm.” He has asked a judge to either declare him the winner or order a second election.
Golden lawyer Peter Brann entered a legal filing Wednesday calling the effort “sour grapes” and an “extraordinary attempt to overturn” the outcome.
Poliquin’s camp didn’t return a phone call Friday.
