The Maine Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Democratic Party and will take Herb Hoffman, an independent Senate candidate, off the November ballot.

The Democrats, who are hoping to knock off Republican Sen. Susan Collins with Rep. Tom Allen, argued successfully that Hoffman's campaign did not gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

The court wrote in its decision:

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.

Click here to read the court's entire decision (PDF).