The House Committee on Elections met in Augusta last week to hear facts regarding the race for District 102 in Standish.

After reviewing the procedures the committee interviewed several people involved in the election including Standish Town Clerk Mary Chapman and Assistant Town Clerk Sherry Allen.

“The panel asked us procedural questions,” said Allen. “We gave a start-to-finish synopsis of Election Day including where people registered, where the machines were set up, basic questions like that.”

For close to two months Democrat Mike Shaw and Republican Gary Moore have been patiently waiting to see who the voters actually elected Nov. 7.

After the polls closed on election night Shaw was announced the winner by 13 votes, a margin small enough to enable Moore to request a recount. He did, and the recount showed Moore to be the victor by six votes.

Throughout the process, questions have been raised by each side about possible mishaps during the election and recount process.

There was initially a question of a machine malfunction during several power outages that occurred in Standish during the election.

“We know there was a machine error,” said Allen. “It was stated on the machine tape, but we have no way of knowing what those errors were.”

There was also the question of possible extra ballots found during the recount.

Republican Party leadership insists that even if there were extra ballots, all of the ballots were counted during the recount and that proves Moore as the winner.

Democratic leaders insist that all angles need to be thoroughly reviewed before a winner can be determined.

The fate of these two men now rests in the hands of the election committee, who after hearing all of the facets of the case, will have to present the legislature with a recommendation on how to proceed.

Until that happens Moore and Shaw will wait patiently and perhaps a little anxiously.

“I am still proceeding with the usual routine of a legislator,” said Moore. “I still answer constituents’ phone calls and answer their questions. Ultimately, yes, I believe I will be seated.”

Shaw, who was sworn in as an interim representative in early December was recently assigned to the Legal and Veteran Affairs Committee, a committee Moore has served on in the past.

“This committee deals with things that I am very interested in including election laws,” said Shaw. “For now, I am just going to continue my work as a legislator and see what happens next week.”

The next meeting of the Elections Committee will be Jan. 3, in Augusta and is open to the public.