AUGUSTA – Independent presidential hopeful Ralph Nader might have secured enough signatures to place him on the Maine ballot, Democrats challenging his candidacy conceded Tuesday.

But potential problems with the paperwork nevertheless should disqualify the consumer advocate from running in Maine, lawyers for two Maine Democrats argued at Tuesday’s conclusion of a hearing before the Secretary of State’s Office.

“These are not technicalities,” said attorney James Kilbreth, representing one of the Democratic challengers to the Nader bid. “We think they go to the heart, the integrity of the process. They are clear requirements and they should be enforced.”

The Secretary of State’s Office is expected to issue a draft decision Thursday to which the lawyers can respond. A final decision is due Sept. 8.

Among their contentions, Democrats cite an error on the vast majority of the Nader petitions, which include the incorrect first name for one of the four electors who would cast electoral college votes for the independent.

Instead of Joseph Noble Snowdeal, 477 of the 479 petitions mistakenly read John Noble Snowdeal.

“The requirement that you be a real person … is not a mere technicality,” Kilbreth said.

Nader attorney Harold Burbank argued Tuesday that such a technical infraction did not constitute fraud and should not override the wishes of the more than 4,000 people who signed the petitions.

“What’s to become of these voters if they are dismissed out of hand because they have not met the limited, technical, narrow requirements of the state regulation scheme?” he asked.

Democrats blame Nader in part for their 2000 defeat to President Bush. They argue Nader’s appearance on the ballot, particularly in New Hampshire and Florida, siphoned off votes from Democrat Al Gore, thus handing the election to the Republican.

Not wishing a repeat of 2000, Democrats in battleground states have swamped the Nader campaign with challenges to its nominating petitions. Most recently, Nader has been denied a spot on the Pennsylvania and Missouri ballots after Democratic challenges.

In Maine in 2000, Nader received 6 percent of the vote, among his best statewide showings.

The secretary of state has certified 4,128 signatures, 128 more than needed to put Nader and his vice presidential running mate, Peter Camejo, on the ballot.

But Democrats also argue that Camejo is registered as a member of the Green Party and therefore ineligible to run as an independent in Maine. That, in turn, would void all the petitions, they said.

The Democratic challengers also originally intended to dispute the validity of as many as 550 signatures on the Nader petitions. Some of the signatures, they said, were bogus, others duplicates.

But after a two-day review of the petitions, they were unable to find enough questionable signatures to bring Nader below the 4,000 needed to keep his spot on the ballot.

Maine Democratic Party chairwoman Dorothy Melanson, one of the challengers, said they were only able to find “a little more than 80,” well short of the 129 signatures needed to knock Nader out of the Maine race.