PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine’s supreme court says it will rule “expeditiously” on disputed petitions needed to proceed with a November referendum on a $1 billion hydropower transmission corridor project.

Attorneys clashed over the validity of the petitions in arguments delivered via video conference on Tuesday.

Backers of the project contend the secretary of state misinterpreted a law when he accepted petitions notarized by people who also performed work for groups collecting petitions.

If the court agrees, then the number of petitions would fall short of the threshold of about 63,000 for the a statewide vote.