(The Center Square) — Maine Republicans are criticizing a report by Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows that dismissed their claims of voter fraud in the previous election.

The probe was sparked by claims made earlier this year by the state’s Republican Party that nearly 600 Maine voters were registered twice in the state’s voter database and that more than 50 voted twice in the November 2024 election. But Bellows said her review of the allegations found no wrongdoing and dismissed the GOP’s claims that some people voted twice. 

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“Mainers can be reassured that following a thorough investigation, my office has confirmed that none of the 51 names provided by the Maine GOP had voted twice in the same election,” Bellows said in a letter to GOP officials. “We are proud of Maine’s safe, free, and secure elections, and I applaud the detailed work that Maine election officials do to ensure the integrity of our voter rolls and protect Maine elections.”

Bellows said the investigation found that voters who were alleged to be registered twice were different people, and that nearly 20 people accused of voting twice were “erroneously” listed as voting more than once by local election clerks. She also found 21 duplicate voters’ records. There were no instances of Mainers voting twice, which is illegal under state and federal laws, she said.

“It’s not only unfair to the individuals wrongly accused but also an insult to the hardworking state and local election officials to make false accusations of criminal activity,” she said. 

The Maine GOP called the investigation a “huge victory” for Republicans and the integrity of the state’s voting records and suggested that Bellows’ comments would hurt her gubernatorial bid. The Democrat is running to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills, who is prevented from seeking reelection because of term limits. 

“We’re glad that we were able to begin pushing a resolution to this issue before any more elections have taken place,” the Maine GOP said in a statement. “Bellow’s previous botched license plate roll out, spending millions in state highway funds in Canada for faulty plates, and now this voter registration debacle should be seen as red flags for Bellows’ campaign.”

The Republican Party’s executive director Jason Savage pushed back on Bellows’ “absurd” claims in the report that more than 50 Mainers were “falsely accused” of voting twice and had their names and addresses “handed to the media” by GOP officials.

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He accused Bellows of trying to shift the blame for shoddy record-keeping to local election clerks and said her statements accompanying the report are “an admission that her data showed voters voting twice and that there was a problem with voters being registered to vote twice.” 

“We provided evidence to reporters to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem upon agreement that they also protect the privacy of voters and the data was not for public release,” he said in a statement. “Bellows’ claims about this are a blatant revision to the truth. The objective is always for Maine voters to have confidence in our elections.”