Election-deciding absentee ballots in Clifton sent back to Maine supreme court
A Select Board election in Clifton is still undecided after two previously-uncounted absentee ballots were challenged and sent to Maine’s highest court for a second time.
The ballots, which were opened during a meeting Wednesday but not certified, will flip the outcome of a single-year Select Board seat if the court finds they were cast legally.
Cynthia Grant, a former town manager, beat Steve Armenia by a single vote in Clifton’s March 24 election. The following day, a ballot clerk found two unopened and uncounted absentee ballots. The ballots were found to be taken out by Gerald Folster, a candidate for a three-year Select Board seat, for two of his family members — breaking a state law that prohibits a candidate from taking out an absentee ballot for anyone but themselves.
Patti and Melissa Folster voted via the ballots. Although their votes were not announced at the meeting, an updated vote count for the single-year position was. With the added ballots, Armenia had received 115 votes compared to Grant’s 114, meaning both votes were for Armenia.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/06/penobscot/absentee-ballots-disputed-election-clifton/