Looks like the District 15 state senate race alone could keep me busy until the election. The latest from the race is more info on the independent expenditure from the Maine Democratic Party that led to $13,000 in matching funds being transferred to the campaign of Republican incumbent Lois Snowe-Mello and a potential fine being levied against the MDP.

It turns out the expenditure in question was for two mailers meant to be "issue advocacy". The Maine Clean Elections Act states that issue advocacy (which doesn't trigger matching funds) can mention a candidate but not specifically promote their candidacy. According to the MDP's lawyer, the vendor they hired altered the designs without informing the party and included the phrase "Deb Simpson for State Senate." This changed the mailers into "express advocacy," necessitating an immediate report to the ethics commission and a $13,000 disbursement to Simpson's opponent.

Here's one of the proofs the MDP says they signed off on:

And here's the version that was sent (change highlighted in red):

The party is contesting the fine levied against them based on their lack of knowledge of the designer's mistake until after the mailers were sent. Their case will be heard on Monday.

Despite the costly mistake, the party is still using the Louisiana-based vendor for other expenditures.