Maine ballot challenge: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West targeted

AUGUSTA — Maine’s Secretary of State Shannon Bellows is set to hear challenges to the validity of petitions filed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West to get on the general election ballot in November.

On Aug. 2, Bellows’ office confirmed that both independent presidential candidates had qualified for Maine’s general election ballot by securing the required 4,000 signatures from Maine voters needed by Aug. 1.

But by Aug. 8, the deadline to file challenges to the petitions to nominate a slate of electors for the office of presidential elector, four Mainers had filed three challenges – one to Kennedy and two to West – largely centering around claims the petitions exceeded the number of allowable signatures.

The challenges also included arguments that many of the signatures were invalid or procured through fraudulent means.

Both Kennedy and West are attempting to get on general election ballots around the country as independent candidates for president. Kennedy , the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of U.S. Sen and presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy, is a former environmental lawyer who has become well known for his skeptical views of vaccines. West is a progressive activist and scholar who acted as a surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Both, as third-party candidates, have the potential to act as spoilers in the 2024 election.

Under Maine law , any registered voter can file a challenge against a nomination petition. Within seven days after the final date for filing challenges, the Secretary of State is then directed to hold a public hearing on the challenge. The hearing notice to both candidates states that the challenger in all cases has the burden of providing sufficient evidence to invalidate the petition and that both sides will have the opportunity to present testimony or witnesses and evidence.

The hearings will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the Maine State House in Augusta. Kennedy’s petitions will be heard at 9 a.m., and West’s at 1 p.m. Bellows will issue a decision within five days of the completion of the hearing.

This is the same process as used last year when Mainers filed challenges to former President Donald Trump’s primary election eligibility under the 14 ^th and 22nd Amendments. Bellows initially ruled Trump ineligible for the primary under the “insurrection ban” in the 14 ^th Amendment. However, she later reversed that decision after the Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s similar ruling.

The challenge against RFK Jr.

Topsham resident James Stretch argued that Kennedy’s nomination petition is invalid because it exceeded the number of signatures allowed by Maine’s law and doesn’t meet the number of valid signatures required.

Maine law requires non-party candidates to be nominated for office by a petition signed by “ at least 4,000 and not more than 5,000 voters. ” Stretch said that by containing 5,853 signatures, or 853 more than the maximum, the petition is “invalid for that reason alone.” He said the limit is necessary “given the short turnaround time for registrars to certify signatures” and that Kennedy “knew about the 5,000-signature maximum, and he exceeded it anyways.”

However, Stretch argued the petition also contains too few valid signatures. He said that 4,163 signatures have at least one deficiency under state law, leaving just 1,690 valid signatures on the petition. According to the hearing notice provided to the Kennedy campaign, these deficiencies include signatures from people who are not registered Maine voters, signatures that are illegible, and signatures where the voter printed their initials or name instead of signing their name.

Another argument Stretch made was about Kennedy’s listed address. While the address on the petition is 84 Croton Lake Road, Katonah, New York, Stretch claimed that Kennedy “has publicly confirmed that he moved to California in 2014,” that this residence is “owned by Kennedy’s friend” and that Kennedy has slept in this room “only once.”

Kennedy is facing similar challenges in other states. The address claim was used by a super PAC challenging Kennedy’s nomination petition in New York, and the same super PAC argued that his petition in Pennsylvania contained irregularities with signatures.

Two challenges to West’s petition

Mainers filed two challenges to West’s nomination petition.

The “Berger Challenge,” filed by Nathan Berger of Portland, makes similar arguments to Stretch’s challenge that West’s petitions contain at once too many signatures and too few valid signatures.

Berger contends that West’s petition exceeds the 5,000-signature maximum by containing 5,983 signatures. But he also claims that 4,805 signatures are invalid, leaving just 1,178 valid signatures, far under the minimum requirement. The signature deficiencies include many of those listed under Stretch’s challenge, such as signatures that “use identical handwriting across multiple rows,” signatures that were crossed out, and duplicate signatures.

The second challenge is the “Gass Challenge,” filed by Anne Gass of Gray and Sandra Marquis of Lewiston. They argue the petition is invalid as a result of fraud: “more specifically, that one or more circulators deceived voters as to the nature of the petition,” reads the hearing notice sent to West’s campaign.

They said the people paid to collect signatures on his behalf used fraudulent tactics to coerce Maine voters into signing the petition.

“Multiple Mainers who signed Dr. West’s petition have stated that the circulator who asked them to sign the petition told them it was in support of new legislation to prevent improper financial dealings by members of Congress and address corporate corruption,” the challenge reads. “Dr. West’s name was never mentioned, and in at least some cases, apparently to conceal the true purpose of the petition, it appears that the circulator only showed them – and asked them to sign – the second page of the petition where the candidate’s name is not shown.”

The challenge also says the petition contains signatures by people who are not registered voters as well as signatures with other deficiencies like only containing first or last names, omitting addresses, or containing inaccurate dates.

West has faced similar challenges in other states: North Carolina’s elections board found that some voters who signed the petitions did not understand the purpose and intent of the petitions, while his petitions are facing accusations of forgery in Michigan.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine ballot challenge: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West targeted