BUXTON — A complaint challenging the legality of the voting process in town was filed Friday with the Maine Ethics Commission by Republican James Libby, who narrowly lost the House 131 race to Rep. Robert Hunt, D-Buxton, on Nov. 2.
Libby, who lost by 36 votes, has also requested a recount in the race, scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Augusta.
“Usually, when you have a 36 vote difference, it’s pretty hard to turn that over,” said Libby, Thursday. “I was tempted to concede, but now there is no way I’m going to concede.”
Chief among Libby’s complaints is that Buxton Town Clerk John Myers, who is also deputy registrar, allegedly violated state law by acting as treasurer of the Hunt campaign well into election season.
“I’m not accusing (Myers) of anything, but it certainly raises an issue when the official of somebody’s else’s campaign is handling early voting, has access to blank ballots and to the safe,” said Libby, Thursday. “It’s unethical. John Myers put himself in a really bad position.”
Myers said Friday that he had served as a treasurer on Hunt’s first campaign two years ago and has been involved in campaigns since the early 1990s, with no complaints. It was not until he attended a state election conference in Bangor on Sept. 22 that he learned the law had been changed in July to prohibit town registrars from holding such a position in a campaign, he said.
“When I came back (from the conference), I resigned as Rob’s treasurer,” said Myers. At that point, he said, Jim Bishop took over as treasurer. “I don’t know why the law changed, and I didn’t know it until after the law went into effect.”
Though Myers stepped down as treasurer in September, Libby’s complaint includes the allegation that Hunt’s political mailings still had Myers’ name, not Bishop’s, listed in the position. Libby said he believes the latter offense constitutes voter fraud and possibly mail fraud.
In addition to these complaints, Libby also alleges in his complaint that Hunt violated the Maine Clean Elections Act by promoting a website on his signs that was not paid for by the campaign and, in fact, does not include a disclaimer citing who has paid for the site. He also complains that “robo-calls” made to constituents last spring, referencing the unclaimed property list, are not listed in Hunt’s campaign finance reports.
Hunt declined Friday to directly address any of the specific claims that Libby has made, saying that he needs more time to look them over.
“I have complete faith in the Ethics Commision to verify that I ran a clean campaign,” he said. “I pride myself on being honest. Frankly, I have nothing to hide.”
Hunt said he was in touch with the Ethics Commission almost daily during his campaign to make sure that he was complying with the law.
Libby said that even if the recount does not go in his favor, he may appeal the issue further “just because there are so many ethical and legal violations.”
He raised a concern in his complaint over a discrepancy in the number of ballots counted, though that issue is not under the purview of the Ethics Commission.
A total of 3,662 local ballots were cast in Buxton, said Myers, while 3,680 state ballots were cast. The 18 ballot difference is not unusual, said Myers, as many people choose not to vote on local issues with which they are not familiar. Libby said he was originally told that 101 absentee or early voting ballots were returned without the town ballots, which he said he “found hard to swallow.”
“I’m not going to rest until people understand,” he said. “This type of thing ruins the election process for a lot of people.
“I want to make sure people’s right to run a fair election is something that Buxton is willing to support.”
A hearing before the Ethics Commission on Libby’s complaint will be either at the Nov. 30 or Dec. 20 meeting, whichever is more convenient for the parties involved, according to a letter from the commission sent to Hunt on Friday.
“I’m proud of the campaign I ran and the support I earned and I look forward to going back to Augusta” after the concerns are addressed, said Hunt, Friday.
— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.
Buxton residents petition for charter recount
In addition to the recount for the House race, about 106 Buxton residents submitted a petition Wednesday for a recount on the charter changes that went before voters on the local ballot. The petition has not yet been verified, said Myers, as the state came Friday morning to collect the town’s voter list for the House recount and the statewide Oxford casino recount.
“The petition is stalled until the voter list is back,” said Myers, which will be at least a month.
Among the charter changes was a proposal to change to a town manager form of government, according to Charter Commission Chairman Andy Townsend. The change was defeated by only 28 votes, said Townsend.
“It was 15 months of worth of work and a lot of town money was spent on attorneys ”¦” he said, Friday. “I feel we owe it to the supporters to know if we lost.”
Townsend said the Charter Commission did not have any concerns about the legality of the vote, but simply wanted a recount because the margin of the loss is small.
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