PORTLAND — The deadline has passed for Bobby Charles’ campaign to return illegal campaign contributions it could identify on its own, but the public record still shows no new or amended filings documenting those refunds.

The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices gave the Charles campaign until October 14 to “rectify any over-the-limit contributions” it could identify and until Friday, October 16, to submit a written response to the campaign finance ethics complaint filed against it.

The campaign has told the media it plans to return contributions that exceeded Maine’s legal contribution limit. But with the refund deadline now passed, there are still no new or amended filings from the Charles campaign documenting those refunds.

Has Charles returned the illegal contributions? If the campaign has issued refunds, why hasn’t it updated the public record? And what did the campaign tell the Commission in its written response due today?

The Charles campaign is scheduled to appear before the Commission at a hearing on October 26.

Statement from Maine Democratic Party Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:

“The Charles campaign said it would return its illegal campaign contributions, but we’ve yet to see any evidence of that in the public record. Mainers deserve transparency, not promises. If Charles did the right thing and returned the money, why hasn’t his campaign made that public?”