Maine almost always has been an afterthought for presidential candidates, with just four electoral votes and an out-of-the way location that made skipping over it an easy call.

This year it enjoyed a brief period as a battleground, before Sen. John Kerry pulled into a lead most analysts there feel he will not relinquish.

But a quirk in Maine’s election law that has not come into play since 1824 is forcing both sides to continue devoting resources to the state. Maine gives two electoral votes to whoever wins its overall popular vote, and one to the winner of each of its two congressional districts.

Kerry leads by a double-digit margin in the more liberal and urbanized first district. But in the northern and rural 2nd District, the candidates are neck-and-neck, leading to speculation that the state could split its votes for the first time in 180 years.

“It’s been bouncing back and forth for months, but it looks like Bush may be able to peel off that electoral vote,” said Mal Leary of the Capital News Service in Augusta, who closely monitors polling.

Bush is relying on support from hunters and other gun owners, and may get a boost from opponents of a ballot initiative that would ban bear baiting, where hunters leave out food to lure the large animals. Kerry is hoping to turn out students at Bates College and the University of Maine in Orono.

Maine nearly split its votes 12 years ago, when independent candidate H. Ross Perot finished second in the state and just behind Bill Clinton in the 2nd District.

“It’s got a reputation for being more conservative than the rest of the state,” said John Baughman, who teaches political science at Bates in the central Maine city of Lewiston. “Splitting the votes doesn’t happen very often, but this year, it’s got a lot of people talking.”