Graham Platner has formally withdrawn from the Maine Senate race. Here’s what we know about the process to replace him

By Ethan Cohen, Jeff Zeleny, CNN

(CNN) — Maine Democrats are embarking on a two-week sprint to pick a new nominee for one of the year’s most important races in the wake of Graham Platner’s decision to end his Senate campaign after allegations of sexual assault, which he denies.

On July 25, about 600 delegates will meet to choose a new candidate. Here’s what we know about how the process will play out:

Who will vote on the new nominee?

The delegates who will meet at the convention in Bangor will come from across the state.

Of the delegates, 101 will be members of party’s state committee and 500 will come from the state’s 16 counties. The number of delegates each county will elect is based on turnout from the 2024 primary.

The delegations will range in size from four delegates and one alternate representing sparsely populated Piscataquis County to 149 delegates and 30 alternates from Cumberland County, home to Portland.

“The convention will be fair, representative, and as transparent as possible as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal: defeat Susan Collins and win this Senate seat,” state party Chair Charlie Dingman said in a statement.

So who gets to vote for delegates?

The county delegates will be elected at local meetings held virtually or in person on July 18 or 19. Anyone who was a registered Democrat as of June 9 (the date of the primary) will be eligible to vote.

Participants can pre-register to attend the meetings by Thursday, or they can register day of, starting two hours before the meeting starts. Registration will end at the start of the meeting.

How will voting at the county meetings work?

Participants at the meeting will be able to vote for as many delegate candidates as the county is allotted (including alternates).

Votes will be cast by either paper or electronic ballot and voting will remain open for an hour for virtual meetings or at least half an hour for in-person meetings.

The process could get unwieldy in some counties.

Take the Cumberland County delegation with 149 delegates and 30 alternates.

Voters in Cumberland will be able to vote for up to 179 candidates, and even if just three of the potential Senate candidates are able to recruit full slates of delegates and alternates, the ballot would have more than 500 names on it.

The top vote-getters will be elected as delegates and then alternates in order of votes received.

While it’s safe to assume that many delegates will be elected based on which candidate they support, they won’t be formally pledged to vote for them.

Potential delegates have until Wednesday to declare their candidacy. So campaigns will have to rush to first recruit prospective delegates and then work to turn out their supporters for the county meetings to vote for them.

In some ways, the process will be similar to how national parties pick presidential candidates, in which delegates elected from each state are ultimately responsible for choosing their nominees. But while in the modern presidential process delegates generally vote for a candidate based on the results of a popular vote, there won’t be a similar statewide opportunity for voters to express their preference for a specific candidate.

The party defended the decision to not hold a “snap primary” given the compressed timeline they have to select a nominee before a July 27 deadline.

“This process has been created in accordance with Maine state law and the realities of the timing constraints we are under. We are proud that this is one of the most open and inclusive processes that any state party has ever undertaken to replace a Senate nominee,” a note on the party website reads.

How will the state convention work?

The delegates will meet in Bangor at 9 a.m. on July 25.

At the meeting, delegates will vote in rounds until one candidate wins a majority. The top five candidates will advance to the second round. After that, the lowest vote-getter will be eliminated after each round.

That means there will be plenty of opportunity for candidates to try to lobby delegates to their side.

The state party has until 5 p.m. on July 27 to submit the name of their nominee to the secretary of state.

How do candidates qualify to run?

More than half a dozen candidates have said they’re going to run, but it’ll take more than a raised hand to make the ballot.

Candidates have until Wednesday to file a formal declaration of candidacy with the state party, and then until July 20 to submit at least 500 signatures from registered Maine Democrats, including at least 50 from at least eight counties.

When did Platner leave the race?

While Platner announced he was ending his campaign on July 8, it took until July 10 for him to formally take his name off the ballot.

In his withdrawal letter, Platner framed his decision as a way to continue his campaign’s legacy.

“People are desperate for change. For this broken system to be righted. For the American experiment to be furthered,” he wrote.

“My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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