Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has filed a lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows over a restriction on campaigns collecting signatures at polling locations during the March 5 primary election.
[RELATED: RFK Jr. Collects Necessary Signatures to Appear on New Hampshire Ballot…]
In an email obtained by the Maine Wire, team Kennedy attorney Paul Rossi said Bellows is “out of control” and a “political hack without any regard for rights guaranteed under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.”
The federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the District of Maine and assigned to District Judge John Woodcock, Jr., argues that Bellows’ “sudden ban” on signature collection defies precedent as the Secretary of State has historically allowed independents to join party candidates to collect petition signatures inside polling places on election day.
Maine requires that non-party presidential candidates file a petition with at least 4,000 signatures by Aug. 1 to qualify for the November general election ballot.
[RELATED: RFK Jr Confronted by Pro-Palestine Heckler Calling for Ceasefire at Portland Event…]
The lawsuit claims the Kennedy campaign was initially informed it would be allowed to collect signatures inside polling locations on March 5, but that earlier this month Bellows informed town clerks not to allow signature collection as it “runs the risk of influence to the voters.”
“So unfortunately, no signature collection can happen at our polling locations for any candidate that is campaigning for President in 2024, regardless if they appear on this ballot or not,” a message to the RFK Jr. campaign from the Portland city clerk said.
[RELATED: “Unbiased” Bellows Cashed in on Left-Wing Mega-Donors in Failed 2014 Senate Bid…]
Team Kennedy is seeking an injunction from the federal judge to stay enforcement of her prohibition against circulators collecting petition signatures at the polls during Maine’s March 5 presidential primary election.
The lawsuit also seeks a three-day extension to collect signatures to appear on Maine’s general election ballot, alleging that Bellows did not meet the Jan. 1 deadline to publish their 2024 petitions due to “her ridiculous crusade to remove President Trump from the Maine ballot.”
[RELATED: Most Mainers Say Bellows’ Blocked Trump for Partisan Reasons: UNH Poll…]
RFK Jr. has so far successfully qualified for the November presidential election ballot in Utah and New Hampshire, and his campaign will be working over the coming months to appear on the ballot in all 50 state and Washington, D.C.
Although Kennedy began his campaign running for the Democratic presidential nomination, he split with the party and declared his independent run in October 2023 in response to what he called the “bankrupt two-party system.”
A Quinnipiac 2024 general election presidential matchup poll released Wednesday had RFK Jr. in third place with 15 percent, behind Trump at 37 percent and the incumbent President Joe Biden narrowly leading at 38 percent.
Polling averages currently place Kennedy’s net favorability rating (+7.8%) far ahead of both Trump (-8.2%) and Biden (-14.8%).
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="25850 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=25850">15 Comments
Unelected Maine SoS dictates Mainers may only vote for Biden, in an effort to protect democracy. Disgusting
Can the people of Maine press charges on her and the state for blatent sedition and conspiracy?
“Kennedy attorney Paul Rossi said Bellows is “out of control” and a “political hack without any regard for rights guaranteed under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.” Pretty much the entire state is run by political hacks starting at the top with MillSS.
…and the incumbent President Joe Biden narrowly leading at 38 percent. These same people would vote FOR a dried booger smeared on the wall.
get this woman out of office~!~~~~~!!!!
Well, they have this correct: ‘Political Hack’ Shenna Bellows.
she is not supposed to show bias toward any candidate. Trump has never been charged let alone convicted of insurrection. Not to mention the fact that he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Bellows and her ilk are what we can expect more and more of as Maine falls further into a Toxic Matriarchy.
Democrat logic,…. Don’t let the citizens vote for who they want,……
Democrats are destroying democracy,…
Shenna is working for Joe and not the People of Maine. She is just an other fair Democrate.
Politics sucks and the larger and more centralized the structure gets the nastier it is. Politics is power and power corrupts–it’s as simple as that! Good people aren’t attracted to power over others. When are we going to wake up and shrink government at all levels, even to the point of its barely existing? Only then will we as individuals be left to pursue our just and peaceful lives as we see fit. This move to ban RFK is just typical of the extreme to which governments devolve. As a people we insist on voting for these malcreants who smile disarmingly. Wake up! Government is not your friend!
Love love love how Bellows……a democrat (surprise) can make up rules as she goes along.
Shenna, keep listening to Ethan Strimling.
First things first. S B was ” elected ” by Democrat majority. It is way past the time to change that to Democrat minority.
It’s also necessary to change that Maine-only concept of having an unelected non-candidate fill that position in the first place.
I have come to believe that given the headlines in this paper over the past 2 years that Maine as a state was used during this PLANDEMIC PSYOP as ground zero for multiple topic exposures. Otherwise we truly are in trouble.