PORTLAND – The Maine Democratic Party is taking its effort to banish U.S. Senate hopeful Herbert Hoffman from the November ballot to the state supreme court.

The secretary of state already ruled that Hoffman collected enough signatures for his name to appear on the ballot, and a Superior Court justice agreed.

But the Democratic Party contends Hoffman violated rules because he was not present when three registered voters signed one of his petitions. That would put him below the threshold of 4,000 signatures if the entire petition sheet were tossed out, as Democrats are seeking to do.

Democrats fear Hoffman could draw votes away from their party’s nominee, Rep. Tom Allen, who’s attempting to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“What’s at stake in this November’s election is simply too important to have someone on the ballot who did not obtain enough valid signatures,” Rebecca Pollard, Maine Democratic Party spokeswoman, said Thursday in announcing the appeal.

Also, it’s important for the state supreme court to clarify the way petition signatures are gathered in Maine to avoid misunderstandings in the future, she said.

Hoffman, a retired psychologist from Ogunquit, is a former Democrat. He contends he did not file any false statements. “When I signed those petition sheets and had them notarized, I was doing that in good faith and honestly,” Hoffman said previously.