AUGUSTA — In a 5-2 decision, the Maine Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Maine law does not require Gov. John R. McKernan to restore to the Nov. 6 ballot the names of three House candidates who won fewer than 25 votes each in the June primary.

The decision means that three House candidates in northern Maine — Rep. John Lisnik, D-Presque Isle, in District 143; Democrat Gary O’Neal in District 145; and Republican Juliet Perreault of Fort Kent in District 150 — will not be listed on November ballots.

The three had been unopposed in the June 12 primary, but had won fewer than 25 votes each in the light primary voting.

A little-known state law requires House candidates to win at least 25 votes in a primary, the same number required on nominating petitions for the House filed by April 1.

Secretary of State G. William Diamond invoked the little-known law, apparently for the first time, after the primary. Diamond said the three House candidates had disqualified themselves by winning fewer than 25 votes.

But after receiving a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office, Diamond said the three candidates’ names could be restored to ballots if McKernan declared vacancies in the districts and local political committees met to pick replacement candidates, presumably the same as the three who were disqualified.

This is the same procedure used when a sitting lawmaker or a candidate dies, or withdraws from a campaign, but McKernan balked at using the procedure, and instead asked the Supreme Court justices for their opinion.

The majority of justices ruled that state law made no reference to a situation where candidates won less than a minimum number of votes and McKernan thus was not required to issue proclamations to restore the candidates to the ballot.

“I am pleased about today’s Supreme Court decision, especially in light of the fact that some had suggested my actions may have been politically motivated,” McKernan said in a prepared statement. “The state’s highest court has agreed that I should not have been required to interfere in the electoral process, which demonstrates that my hesitations were obviously justified.”

Lisnik, a prominent five-term lawmaker, on Monday had charged that McKernan was playing politics with the issue.

But Thursday, after learning of the justices’ decision, Lisnik said, “I respect the court’s decision. There may be some legal followup, but I’ve got a write-in campaign to organize. It will be an educational process.”

“We thought we had a very strong case,” Lisnik said. “The fact the court was split on this does indicate some ambiguity.”

Lisnik and the other two candidates will have to wage uphill battles as write-in candidates because state law bans the use of write-in stickers in the fall elections. Thus voters must take extra care to write candidates’ names and addresses in longhand. And in some towns, where voting machines are used, they must ask for paper ballots.

The Republican candidate in Lisnik’s district, whose name will appear on the ballot, is James Donnelly of Presque Isle.

In District 145, O’Neal is challenging Rep. Susan Pines, R-Limestone, and in District 150, Perreault is challenging Rep. Judy Paradis, D-Frenchville.

Chief Justice Vincent L. McKusick and Justices David G. Roberts, Daniel E. Wathen, Samuel W. Collins Jr. and Morton A. Brody formed the majority on the election issue.

“The statutes simply do not provide a way for placing a nominee on the ballot for the general election when no candidate for nomination obtains the required minimum number of 25 votes in the primary,” the justices wrote. “In such circumstances, a write-in candidacy remains the available alternative for the general election.

“We are mindful that restrictions on access to the ballot present concerns of constitutional dimension. We are persuaded, however, that the state of Maine may legally require that all candidates for nomination make a preliminary showing of substantial support.

“The requirement that a nominee receive 25 votes is an evenhanded restriction, applicable to all, and is reasonably designed to protect the integrity of the electoral process.”

Justices Caroline D. Glassman and Robert W. Clifford formed the minority, saying they thought state law did require McKernan to fill the vacancies on the ballot. They said the candidates fell under the procedure used when candidates were disqualified. And they said the overall purpose of election laws was to discourage vacancies and encourage political-party participation in the election process.