CHARLES CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES ELECTION INTEGRITY HOTLINE, CALLS ON MAINE TOWN ELECTION OFFICIALS TO CORRECT MISINFORMATION ABOUT RANKED CHOICE VOTING

CHARLES CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES ELECTION INTEGRITY HOTLINE, CALLS ON MAINE TOWN ELECTION OFFICIALS TO CORRECT MISINFORMATION ABOUT RANKED CHOICE VOTING

Secretary of State's Own Office Confirms Voters Were Given Incorrect Guidance at the Polls

MAINE -- Today, Bobby Charles, frontrunner and Republican candidate for Governor, is launching a dedicated election integrity email account -- ElectionIssues@bobbyformaine.com -- to track and prevent election fraud and disinformation across Maine. Voters who experience irregularities or receive incorrect information at any polling location are urged to report it immediately.

The Charles campaign is also calling on town election officials across Maine to immediately correct misinformation being given to voters at polling locations regarding Ranked Choice Voting.

The campaign has received multiple reports from Republican primary voters who were incorrectly told by poll workers that their vote would "not count" if they marked all their choices on the ballot for only one candidate. One voter reported that after voting straight across for Bobby Charles -- exactly as the campaign has encouraged voters to do and the Secretary of State's Office demonstrates in their official guide -- she was told by a poll worker that her vote would not count.

That information is wrong, confuses voters, and causes voters to doubt the integrity of the process.

When the Maine Republican Party contacted the Secretary of State's office directly to report the incident, officials confirmed that voting straight across is entirely proper and acknowledged frustration that voters were being given incorrect guidance at the polls.

"Maine voters deserve accurate information when they walk into a polling booth," said Bobby Charles, frontrunner and Republican candidate for Governor. "When the Maine Republican Party called the Secretary of State's office, even they confirmed that voters were being given wrong information by some election officials. We are calling on every election official in Maine to correct this immediately. Every voter deserves the right to cast their ballot correctly and with confidence. That is why today we are launching ElectionIssues@bobbyformaine.com -- so that no Maine voter's voice goes unheard."

The campaign is urging town election officials statewide to ensure all poll workers are properly informed about what is and is not permissible under Ranked Choice Voting before another voter is turned away or misled. Instances like this are exactly why Bobby Charles stands his ground on repealing Ranked Choice Voting.

This failure of basic election administration falls squarely on Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who has demonstrated a repeated pattern of incompetence and bad faith in overseeing Maine's elections. Bellows attempted to unilaterally and unconstitutionally remove the duly elected President of the United States from Maine's ballot. She removed a transgender amendment referendum from the ballot. Her office has lost boxes of votes. And now, on primary day, some election officials under her supervision are actively providing voters with incorrect information. Most troubling of all, Bellows is running for Governor in the very election she is currently overseeing -- a brazen conflict of interest that no Maine voter should ignore. Mainers deserve a Secretary of State who protects the integrity of their elections, not one who undermines it at every turn while pursuing her own political ambitions.

Republicans across Maine are encouraged to know their rights: you may vote straight across for your preferred candidate. If a poll worker tells you otherwise, you have the right to report this activity.

Any voter who received incorrect information about Ranked Choice Voting at any polling location across Maine is urged to report it immediately. Contact the Bobby Charles for Governor campaign at ElectionIssues@bobbyformaine.com or Press@bobbyformaine.com.

‍