AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) A Maine judge has upheld the decision to remove a Republican candidate from the U.S. Senate ballot over allegations concerning invalid signatures on his ballot petition.

The judge wrote Thursday that Democratic Secretary of State Matt Dunlap was right to invalidate dozens of signatures filed by would-be candidate Max Linn.

The Portland Press Herald reports the court also ruled that if there was any fraud, it most likely came from Linn’s campaign itself and not, as Linn alleged, the campaign of Republican state Sen. Eric Brakey.

Linn, a Bar Harbor financial planner, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Dunlap has said it’s too late to remove Linn’s name from the ballot, but Republican voters will be given instructions that he is not an official candidate.