A number of vehicle registrants across Maine are being tagged with New Hampshire toll violations amid the recent plate changeover.

When Maine began switching from chickadee plates to the new pine tree motif, vehicle owners were expected to pay an extra $25 to keep their old numbers.

But some who chose to receive new randomly assigned numbers are now getting fined for not transferring the change to their EZ Pass accounts.

The problem is typically occurring when vehicles are passing crossing the I-95 border between Maine and New Hampshire.

A new Reddit thread has been created by Maine drivers caught up in the plate changeover mess.

“The plate switch got me a couple EZ pass violations, which is ridiculous for a few reasons, but I ended up paying New Hampshire EZ Pass $8 because it was easier than trying to talk to a human and get it resolved the right way,” one Reddit poster said.

“I got a couple violations too because I got the blank plate (no tree) and for some reason that messes with things,” said another.

And who do Maine plate holders have to thank for the latest tag changeover mess? Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

For Bellows the plate issue became a problem even as she tried to will it away while running for governor.

The plate boss came in fourth last week in the state’s Democrat gubernatorial primary thanks to voters who realized if she couldn’t manage license plates she couldn’t run an entire state.

In other words, she got tagged with managerial incompetence.

The plate changeover became a mess from the start when a number of tags came through with misplaced pine tree logos.

Bellows got a lot of negative publicity over the misplaced tree – not helpful as she geared up for a run at the governorship.

Bellows contracted with a Canadian company to make the new plates, which formerly were stamped out by Maine State Prison inmates.