An Act To Streamline Municipal Referenda Recount Initiation

LD 1635 requires automatic recounts for municipal referendums in Maine when the margin of victory or defeat is less than 1% of all votes cast, including blank ballots. This replaces the current requirement that 10% of registered voters (or 100 voters, whichever is less) must formally request a recount. The bill directly affects voters and election officials in Maine municipalities holding referendums with extremely close results. It streamlines the process by eliminating the need for written applications in these narrow-margin cases.