ME: Questions over Electronic Copies of Petitions May Keep Independent off Ballot

From MPBN:

Come November, it appears there will be at least five candidates for governor on the ballot in Maine. In addition to the two major party candidates that will be chosen in the June 8th primary, three independent candidates have already turned in their qualifying signatures to the Secretary of State's Office. There are seven others who could potentially qualify by June 1. But at least one independent hopeful is embroiled in a dispute with election officials after attempting to submit electronic copies of his petitions to town clerks for verification . . .

But for one independent candidate, the lengthy process of gathering petitions and having them validated by local clerks may run aground. Alex Hammer of Bangor may end up a few hundred votes short if he loses a dispute with Dunlap's office.

"I'm not a lawyer, but it's clear that the Secretary of State's arguments do not add up," Hammer says. He says he has already submitted approximately 3,800 signatures to the Secretary of State that have been approved by local town clerks and election officials.

He has an additional 2,100 signatures that have been submitted to town clerks, although not in the form of original hard copies. Instead, Hammer submitted high-resolution scanned copies, which Dunlap says is not acceptable under current law.