Democratic Rep. Tom Allen and Republican Sen. Susan Collins will face a third opponent in the Nov. 4 general election: Herbert Hoffman, an independent anti-war, pro-impeachment candidate.

Secretary of State Matt Dunlap on Monday rejected the Maine Democratic Party’s challenge to keep Hoffman off of the ballot. The party alleged that Hoffman’s petitions were invalid because he was not in the area where registered voters were signing them.

“I’m very gratified that the Secretary of State has upheld the hearing officer’s recommendation. This is a vindication of my petition efforts and it is also a ruling in favor of voters’ rights,” Hoffman said in a phone interview.

The ruling ends a two-week long dispute between Hoffman and the Maine Democratic Party, which began earlier this month when Hoffman submitted 4,112 signature to qualify for the ballot. He needed 4,000.

But the Maine Democratic Party challenged the validity of some of the signatures.

The two parties met at a hearing before the Secretary of State’s office on Monday. After reviewing the party’s complaints, Julie Flynn, Maine’s Deputy Secretary of State, found that 74 signatures were invalid, leaving Hoffman with 4,038 signatures.

“There’s no pattern of forethought of abuse,” Dunlap said, adding that the state party’s challenge “was not sufficient” to keep Hoffman off of the ballot.

Below is the statement from the Maine Democratic Party.

"At this time we're reviewing the Secretary of State's report and weighing all of our options. We are very pleased that the Secretary of State agrees with us on the facts we set forth in the case, and agrees with us that 74 of Mr. Hoffman's signatures were, in fact, invalid. However, we feel the SOS may have misapplied the law when rendering his ultimate decision. We are reviewing all of our options and will decide in the coming days whether or not to appeal."

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