(Note: The high-level member of the Maine College Republicans I cite below is Dan Schuberth, State Chairman.)

I have contacted a high-level member of the Maine College Republicans, who unequivocally refutes Christopher Johnson’s earlier assertions that “the Maine State Republicans are preparing to file a lawsuit that would disqualify thousands of votes from college students whose primary residency is out of state.”

The high-level College Republicans member only learned of this assertion from me, having heard nothing about it before. He stated that to his knowledge, the Maine Republican Party has no plans to challenge college voters “unless they voted illegally.”

He also noted that the Maine College Republicans had helped President Bush carry the youth vote by a 50%-48% margin, and that they are “more than satisfied with how the college vote broke down.”

UPDATE: Mr. Johnson’s numbers don’t add up. He claims that the alleged lawsuit “primarily effects the 6,000 or so students enrolled at Bowdoin, Bates and Colby.” As for its purpose, Johnson says that “suppressing student votes in Waterville was designed to impact the congressional race in the 2nd District.”

As of this posting, the Democratic incumbent, Mike Michaud, leads by nearly 60,000 votes with 97% of precincts reporting. I’m not sure why Johnson would believe that 6,000 votes are worth anyone’s time and money in court.

This is a dead story, folks.