Linn admits ballot signature ‘hanky-panky,’ then blames Brakey without proof

6 years ago

AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Max Linn renewed an unsubstantiated allegation that his primary opponent sabotaged his nominating signatures after his lawyer admitted at a Tuesday hearing that there was “hanky-panky” and possible fraud around them.

Linn and representatives for his primary opponent, state Sen. Eric Brakey of Auburn, were in Augusta on Tuesday for a hearing before Secretary of State Matt Dunlap where the candidates agreed on a lot — including that 46 signatures on Linn’s nominating petition are bad and a criminal investigation should be launched.

But they disagree on whether Linn should be booted from the ballot. Dunlap, a Democrat, is expected to rule for a third time by Wednesday on whether Linn will make the June ballot to compete for the nomination to challenge independent U.S. Sen. Angus King.

Candidates for statewide primaries must qualify for the ballot by submitting 2,000 valid signatures of registered voters in their parties. Dunlap certified Linn for the ballot in March and ruled that he could stay on the ballot earlier this month after a challenge from Brakey.

The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Linn admits ballot signature ‘hanky-panky,’ then blames Brakey without proof,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.