Dems succeed – Hoffman off the ballot

Read the court's opinion here 

Herb Hoffman has pledged to continue to fight, but for the moment he’s off the ballot.

The state’s Supreme Court sided with the Maine Democratic Party, who challenged the independent seeking a U.S. Senate seat on the grounds that three signature sheets on his nominating petition were invalid.

The party brought the complaint first to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office, and then the Maine Superior Court, both of which ruled against them.

In a ruling which was handed down at 4 p.m. Monday, the Supreme Court overturned the Superior Court’s ruling.

The opinion read: “We conclude that the plain language of the statute requires that each of the three petitions be stricken in their entirety, and, thus, we must vacate the judgment of the Superior Court affirming the Secretary's determination that the three petitions were valid.”

Hoffman would have run against U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Portland, and incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Bangor.

At a hearing Thursday, Daniel Walker, attorney for the Democrats, argued that the party was able to prove that one signature on each of three petition sheets was invalid because the signers testified that they signed not in the presence of Hoffman but in the presence of an assistant. It was Hoffman, however, who signed the oath on the back of the petition sheet stating that he was present and aware of all the signatures taking place.

Walker argued that since the party proved one signature on each sheet was invalid, this meant the oath on each of the three petition sheets was invalid, thus invalidating all the signatures on them. This would then bring Hoffman under the 4,000 needed. The Court agreed.

Before knowing the decision, Hoffman called a press conference in front of the court house. When he found out the news, he said he was clearly disappointed, and was still digesting the decision and had yet to decide his next steps.

His attorney, John Branson, promised to fight the decision with every bit of ammo he and Hoffman could muster, and would examine every option.

“This challenge was never about individual petitions,” Hoffman told a group of reporters and supporters. “It was about not having another voice on the debate platform, a voice that would talk about getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan now, single payer health care plans for all, Medicare plans for all, and holding this administration at all levels of government accountable for their actions.

He added: “This is a decision that has struck at every voter in Maine. Essentially the voters in Maine will not have the opportunity to have a choice. We have two candidates who have been in Congress 12 years each. They’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership in moving this country forward for citizens of Maine and the United States, and they are lacking. They are complicit in the condition that we find our country in at this time, both nationally and internationally.”

Both the Maine Democratic Party and Allen’s campaign issued statements shortly following the ruling.

Rebecca Pollard, spokeswoman for the party, said the following:

“Rules are rules, and whether an individual intends to break them or not, they must be upheld-and that's what the Supreme Court did today. We believe that when someone swears an oath, or a promise, that oath must be truthful.

“Undermining the rules for how one's name appears on the ballot for elected office would have set a dangerous precedent for Maine's petition gathering process in the future, and ultimately could have led to many more legal battles.

“The sanctity of Maine's ballot access process was at stake in this case, and today the Supreme Court did a great service to Maine voters, who can feel confident that all candidates for the U.S. Senate are on the ballot justly.”

According to a statement from Carol Andrews, spokeswoman for the Allen campaign, the Democrats are inviting Hoffman to join them. When Hoffman initially announced his bid for Senate, he said Allen met with him and asked him not to run, and instead join his campaign.

“We know that Mr. Hoffman agrees with us that we need a safe, responsible withdrawal from Iraq, universal health care, and bold solutions for our energy and economic crises. We have much in common and look forward to working together to change the direction of the country,” Andrews wrote.

The Maine Republican Party had criticized the Democrats for challenging Hoffman, but now spokeswoman Jennifer Webber said they respect the Supreme Court’s decision. However, now the Democrats must keep in mind the 4,000 people who did sign Hoffman’s petition, and now may be disenfranchised.

“It looks like they have a lot of work to do to bring people back into their fold,” Webber said.