Maine Gov. LePage casts doubt on election results

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage is telling state legislators he will rubber-stamp their election certification certificates, despite his concerns about the accuracy of the state's official results.

Democratic Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said that he has not received complaints regarding the integrity of the 2016 election. He said the office is "fully confident" that the election results are accurate and represent the will of Maine voters.

LePage is questioning the results approving marijuana legalization, a minimum wage hike and an income surtax to fund schools. He has claimed that voters didn't understand the specifics of the ballot questions. The governor has also said that Maine would verify if college students lawfully voted, and recently said that no ID requirement for voting means "people from the cemetery" would vote.

LePage provided no evidence to back up his claims. He recently wrote a letter to legislators in which he said he signed their election certification despite his "strong concerns regarding the integrity of Maine's ballot."

"I cannot attest to the accuracy of the tabulation certified by the Secretary of State," LePage said.

His office did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the governor for casting doubt on the integrity of election results certified by the Democratic Secretary of State without providing any evidence.

Dunlap said that Maine uses paper ballots and that about half of municipalities hand-count ballots. He said that tabulating machines in the rest of the state are not connected to any network that could make them susceptible to tampering.

LePage made the comments even as Republicans maintained a Congressional seat and narrow control of the state Senate, as well as gaining state House seats.