AUGUSTA – A recount Monday appeared to save the job of Republican state Rep. Gary Moore of Standish, but the new results are still disputed.

Going into Monday’s recount, Moore trailed Democrat Michael Shaw, 1,601-1,588, in unofficial results. According to the secretary of state, Monday’s recount showed Moore with 1,641 votes and Shaw with 1,635.

“All the ballots were reviewed, but the candidates have not signed off on the results,” said Doug Dunbar, deputy secretary of state. “The recount has not concluded.”

The recount process will continue on Nov. 27, when the candidates are scheduled to meet again.

With nine recounts completed, House District 102 is the first in which the results appear to have changed.

Also on Monday, a recount in House District 91 showed that Democrat Tim Carter remained the winner against Republican Nancy Bessey, according to the secretary of state.

In unofficial results, Carter had 2,115 votes to 2,104 for Bessey. After the recount, Carter extended his margin to 2,171 while Bessey’s tally rose to 2,116, according to secretary of state. Neither candidate could be reached early Monday evening.

On Friday, a recount confirmed Democrat Teresea Hayes’ win over Republican Rep. Bruce Hanley in House District 94. In unofficial results, Hayes of Buckfield led Hanley, 1,882-1,873. Both candidates picked up votes in the recount, but not enough to change the results. Hayes finished with 1,898 to Hanley’s 1,883.

At issue in the Moore-Shaw race is an apparent discrepancy between actual ballots and the number of votes recorded on at least one voting machine, said Rep. Glenn Cummings, the incoming speaker of the House.

“We went into the recount 13 votes ahead,” Cummings said Monday. “By the end of the day, there were additional ballots that had not been counted in the original count. There is a variation between the number of recorded votes and the number of ballots.”

If the candidates do not sign off on the results of the recount, the election will be sent to the House Elections Committee and eventually on to the Maine House of Representatives, which would determine which candidate to seat, according to the secretary of state.

At one point, Shaw was still up by two votes and then there were additional ballots that came up, Cummings said.

“There’s still some ambiguity and uncertainty,” Cummings said.

If the issue is not resolved before Dec. 6 when the 123rd Legislature is sworn in, the representative from the disputed district would be sworn in conditionally, Cummings said.

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