Nearly two months after Election Day, the race for District 102 in Standish has finally come to an end with Democrat Michael Shaw’s withdrawal.

The decision to withdraw, which Shaw said he made on his own and not under pressure from party leaders in Augusta, means Rep. Gary Moore will remain in office.

“It has been a great honor to come to the State House for the people of my area,” said a disappointed Shaw. “This is not an easy decision but I know it is the best thing to do for our community.”

If Shaw had not withdrawn from the race, the bipartisan House Committee on Elections – which was expected to issue a decision in the race Wednesday, Jan. 3 – may have suggested a special election. With the withdrawal, the committee instead recommended Moore, the incumbent Republican who’s served Standish for the last four years, fill the seat.

“Given the precedent I think it would have been reasonable for Representative Shaw to ask for a new election,” said Speaker of the House Glenn Cummings. “I think Mike is making a unique and honorable gesture and I admire him for putting the interests of the voters of Standish before his own.”

If the House had voted for a special election it would have cost the town of Standish and the state thousands of dollars, one reason why Shaw decided to withdraw. Shaw also said he wanted to spare Standish voters the long special-election process which he estimated would have taken two or three more months.

“We would have to reprint thousands of ballots, deliver them etc.,” said Flynn. “Not to mention the additional cost Standish taxpayers would have.”

The race has been under scrutiny by the House Elections Committee since early December after an initial recount reversed results from election night.

Shaw was the initial winner by a margin small enough to initiate a recount, which resulted in Republican Gary Moore winning the legislative seat by six votes.

Unsatisfied with the recount, and concerned about a possible 66-ballot discrepancy, Shaw was unwilling to concede forcing the issue into the hands of the committee.

“The committee tries to resolve things to the best of their ability,” said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. “The committee will review all the information and then give a recommendation to the house floor who will ultimately decide the outcome.”

The bipartisan committee has been looking over voter checklists, recount numbers and interviewing key participants in the Standish election trying to determine the best course of action for finding the true winner.

Many issues have arisen in the aftermath of the election including machine failure on election night due to an electrical power outage, extra absentee ballots and the possibility that people in a small portion of Standish were given the wrong ballots. Although the secretary of state’s office did not confirm a discrepancy in absentee ballots, it did confirm a machine failure as well as the possibility that about 20 Standish voters in District 103, which makes up a small portion of Standish near the Windham line, were given ballots for District 102 and vice versa. The District 103 race was decided by several hundred votes and those results would not be affected by the 20 disputed ballots.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, Standish is not the only town where distribution of the wrong ballots has occurred.

“The supposition of wrong district ballots was based on the number of people in each district compared with the number of voters checked off in that district,” said Deputy Secretary of State Julie Flynn. “It has happened before and it probably happens in every election with more than one district in it. It is not uncommon; it does happen.”

Flynn believes one way to combat this from happening is for voters to make sure they are educated before going in to the poll.

“Voters should be educated enough to know what district they should be voting in,” said Flynn. “That way if they are given the wrong ballot they will recognize it and may ask a clerk for the correct ballot.”

Standish Town Clerk Mary Chapman recognizes human error can occur but praises the people who worked the polls on Election Day 2006.

“Our clerks are exceptional. For them to be at the polls all day and do the work that needs to be done, they are just incredible,” said Chapman. “On election night we all do our best to make sure there is an accurate count. It was shocking to me when we learned the machines had failed that night. We have never had a problem with them before. I really feel very sorry for everyone involved in this election.”

Chapman has never had a problem with elections in the past and according to Town Manager Gordon Billington, Chapman “is our most dedicated and diligent employee.”

Both candidates as well as the House Elections Committee have stated they do not believe Chapman or any of the workers at the Standish polls were negligent on election night.

“I believe the officials in Standish conducted a legal and efficient election,” said Moore.

Since Shaw was the winner on Election Day, he was provisionally sworn in as a legislator on Dec. 6 and started working on bills for his community.

“I submitted a bill to reinstate the Mountain Division rail line,” said Shaw. “I have turned that over to Sen. Bill Diamond to handle for me. Even though I am not a legislator, I will still be working for the people of Standish and I will be going to Augusta to present my bill.”

After Shaw officially withdrew Wednesday morning the committee voted unanimously to appoint Shaw’s opponent Republican and veteran legislator Gary Moore to the District 102 seat.

“It was quite a ritual,” said Moore, who was taken by a special committee to the Maine Supreme Court Justice’s Office where he was officially sworn in. After being escorted to his seat on the House floor, Moore received a standing ovation.

“I am just really happy and energized,” said Moore. “I can’t wait to get back to work for my community. I have been working on bills all day.”