By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

HARTFORD – The town’s two selectmen are waiting for a meeting tonight to discuss what should be done in response to problems with Tuesday’s elections.

Both Lee Holman and Laura Marston, who have been serving on the Hartford Board of Selectmen without a third member since Scott Swain resigned March 3, said the election is expected to be a major point of discussion.

Both are wondering what the public response will be.

“I think, basically, I’m just sort of sitting back waiting to see if somebody’s going to contest the results,” Marston said Wednesday.

Reached shortly after the voting ended near midnight Tuesday, Holman said she wouldn’t be surprised if the results are challenged because of close results in the selectman race and the problems with the polling process.

The first problem arose soon after the polls opened Tuesday, when some voters reported they had not seen town clerk candidate Monica Mailly’s name on their ballots. Things grew worse when, in an attempt to fix the problem, an election warden opened the ballot box and removed the 13 ballots that had already been cast.

Holman, who was not present when the ballot box was opened, said she was told by the Maine Municipal Association that only a court can declare an election invalid and that the voting should continue.

There were questions as to how the 13 pulled votes would be handled as the counting began Tuesday, she said. While election wardens attempted to contact those voters, not everyone returned to cast new ballots.

Jason Rowe lost the selectman’s race with 93 votes to Roland Downing’s 96.

Town clerk candidates Zoe Cowett and Lianne Bedard tied with 71 votes apiece, while fellow candidate Monica Mailly received 55. A special runoff election is scheduled for Monday.

Bedard declined to comment Wednesday, and no other former candidates could be reached. The town office phone line was busy when several calls were placed throughout the day.

Holman and Marston also are expected today to discuss a problem with the annual town meeting, which was scheduled for June 11. Printer problems led to a delay in the posting of the warrant for an initial date of May 31.

While some residents have circulated a petition because the date conflicts with the Oxford County Bicentennial Celebration, Holman said she learned from the municipal association that the meeting was not properly arranged in the first place. An election tied to a single warrant must be held within 14 days of the town meeting, she said.

Holman said she expects that the board will have to create a new warrant before it can reschedule the town meeting.

The selectmen will meet at 7 tonight in the town hall.