A national group that's backing the effort to overturn Maine's same-sex marriage law is filing a legal challenge of the state's elections laws. The National Organization for Marriage, or NOM, is seeking a temporary restraining order against the state Ethics Commission, which has launched an investigation into NOM's finances in the campaign. In court documents filed Wednesday, NOM argues that Maine's rules governing so-called "ballot question committees" are unconstitutional.

The complaint, filed on behalf of The National Organization for Marriage, and a group called American Principles in Action, asks the federal district court in Maine to restrain the state Ethics Commission from taking any enforcement action against them before the election on November 3.

"As far as I know they're still just investigating, but my clients are concerned that some enforcement action may be taken which would prevent them from getting involved in this issue over the next two weeks," says Attorney Stephen Whiting, who is representing the two groups.

Whiting says his clients believe that Maine's laws governing the requirements of so-called Ballot Question Committees are overly burdensome. For example, Whiting says anyone spending more than $5,000 on a campaign has to register with the Ethics Commission, appoint a treasurer, and file periodic reports on every contribution and expenditure.

"You have to file these reports, like, every ten days and coming up to the election, if you make an expenditure of $500 or more you have to report immediately within 24 hours, and it's just so onerous, so burdensome and oppressive that to comply with these things would be ridiculous, and it just chills First Amendment speech. People who want to get involved in referendum campaigns just can't."

Earlier this month, the state Ethics Commission decided to go ahead with an investigation into NOM, and whether it's attempting to circumvent Maine's campaign finance laws by not naming its individual donors. The investiation was prompted by a complaint from another out of state group called "Californians Against Hate."

"I'm flabbergasted that they would do this," says Fred Karger, Founder of Californians Against Hate. Karger says NOM is under investigation in several states, and is taking great pains to conceal its true identity.

"Why don't they want to abide by the rules in Maine and California? Why don't they want to file their federal tax returns, and make those public like they have to? What are they hiding? Who is behind this mystery oragnization?" Karger asks. "They're just on this mission, and they are out to change the rules and not abide by the laws of our country and our state, and that is, I think, unforgivable."

Meanwhile, Maine Ethics Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne says he can't comment on the investigation into NOM, or on the complaint it filed today in federal court. He says the law governing Ballot Question Committees was enacted nine years ago, after the state lost a court challenge of the rules for Political Action Commitees.

"There was an individual activist in 1999 or 2000 who wanted to spend money to influence an election, but did not want to file reports as a political action committee, so he filed a lawsuit challenging the PAC statute, and the U.S. District Court agreed that he didn't qaulify as a PAC. So the legislature had to come up with an alternative way to get organizations to file reports if they didn't qualify as PACs and that's why we have this statute."

NOM maintains that it doesn't have to report the names of individual contributors because it asks for donations nationally, and doesn't designate them for specific campaigns.

According to reports filed by the Maine-based group "Stand for Marriage Maine," it has received about $500,000 in contributions from NOM, more than 40 percent of its total raised. The next filing deadline is tomorrow. A hearing on the temporary restraining order filed by NOM is expected to be scheduled for Monday.