Three challenges were filed with the Maine Secretary of State on August 8 targeting Robert F. Kennedy’s and Cornel West’s petitions to appear on the state’s ballot as presidential candidates this November.

The one challenge against Kennedy’s petition was filed by James Stretch of Topsham, a registered Democrat who reportedly worked for President Joe Biden’s (D) campaign in 2020.

West’s petition received two challenges, one from Anne Gass of Gray, a left-wing former legislative candidate and a member of the Gray Town Council. Sandra Marquis of Lewiston and Nathan Berger of Portland also submitted petitions.

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These challenges reportedly appear to be part of a broader effort by Clear Choice Action — a political action committee led by supporters of President Joe Biden (D) — to prevent third party candidates from becoming “spoilers” in what is expected to be a tight presidential race.

The Lewiston Sun Journal reported Clear Choice Action had told the Portland Press Herald that it would be filing challenges on August 8.

Stretch’s filing argues that Kennedy’s petition is invalid for having contained nearly 1,000 signatures over the statutory maximum, as well as for having too few valid signatures as a significant number of them allegedly “violate the statutory requirements in one or more respects.”

A nearly identical argument was made by Berger in his challenge to West’s petition. Berger contends that West exceeded the statutory maximum of signatures by a similar degree and that a significant number of those that were submitted ought to be deemed invalid.

Gass and Marquis’ challenge to West’s petition is also centered on signature verification, arguing that it contains signatures “procured through fraud by its circulators.” They go on to allege that “at least some” of the circulators paid by West’s campaign “use[d] fraudulent tactics to coerce Maine voters to sign his petition.”

Click Here to Read the Full Challenges Against Kennedy’s and West’s Petitions

Hearings on these challenges will be held on Wednesday, August 14. Kennedy’s hearing will take place first, beginning at 9am. The hearing for West’s challenges is scheduled to start at 1pm on the same day.

According to state law, Bellows will be required to rule on the validity of the candidates’ petitions within five days. Any party may appeal the Secretary’s decision to the Maine Superior Court.

Anyone seeking to intervene in either of these challenges may submit a written request to the Secretary of State’s office at [email protected] by 4pm on Tuesday, August 13.

Click Here to Watch a Live Stream of the Hearings

Challenges were filed late last year against former President Donald Trump’s (R) petition to appear on the state’s presidential primary ballot using this same procedure.

This led to an eight-hour hearing that centered largely around Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, in which it was debated whether the events that transpired at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and his role in them precluded former President Trump from running for office.

Similar challenges were issued in dozens of other states across the country, most of which were also made on this same basis.

The Untied States Supreme Court went on to unanimously rule in a case out of Colorado that Trump must be allowed to appear on the ballot there, as states do not have the authority to disqualify candidates for federal office under this section of the Constitution.

All nine Justices agreed that states cannot enforce Section 3 against candidates seeking federal office, “especially the Presidency.”

Bellows ultimately withdrew her decision to disqualify the former president from Maine’s primary ballot, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid,” said Bellows.

“I instead conclude that the Anderson decision prohibits me from finding Mr. Trump’s statement that he is qualified for the presidency to be false by operation of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” she wrote. “Mr. Trump’s primary petition is therefore valid.”