Maine Senate Count Could Lag as Markets Watch Collins Race

Maine's U.S. Senate contest is one of a handful of races that Wall Street trading desks will track on election night, November 3, and one of the least likely to produce a quick answer, according to The Sunday Guardian.

Maine uses ranked-choice voting in federal elections, which requires additional rounds of counting if no candidate takes a majority of first-choice votes. The outlet reported that Maine and Alaska, which also uses a ranked system, are likely to be the slowest states to call, with results potentially arriving well after the rest of the country has reported. Maine's polls close in the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern window, alongside Michigan and Texas.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is defending her seat, and the race was listed among five Senate battlegrounds drawing the most attention from financial analysts, along with contests in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Michigan. Nationally, 35 Senate seats, all 435 House seats and 36 governorships are on the ballot.

Election officials cautioned that the final composition of Congress may not be confirmed for days or weeks, and that early calls are not official results.

This story was first reported by The Sunday Guardian.