The Maine Senate, ratifying a shift in the chamber's partisan balance of power, voted 18-16 Friday to permanently seat Democrat Michael Brennan of Portland after a review panel concluded he won a five-way District 27 special election by 10 votes. The Senate vote pitted Democrats against Republicans, with independent Jill Goldthwait of Bar Harbor avoiding a potential deadlock by siding with the Democrats to seat Brennan. Brennan, whose district includes Falmouth, Long Island and part of Portland, did not vote. Republicans had maintained that some absentee ballots that arrived after the special election polls closed on March 5 should have...