The wonderfully monickered, Alex Hammer is taking the Maine Secretary of State to court because he is not on the ballot in November. Hammer is upset that his signatures were not accepted and he was left off the ballot.

The suit will challenge the reasoning behind their refusal and debate the machinations of Maine electoral law that led to the decision. Maine’s electoral law is seen by many as designed to make it harder for new parties and independent candidates to meet requirements.

“Hammer claims he gathered more than 5,900 signatures in an effort to have his name appear on the November ballot as an unenrolled candidate for governor. But Hammer fell roughly 800 signatures short of the 4,000 needed to qualify because he tried to submit electronic copies of the petitions to local clerks for certification.

The dispute preceeded the deadline for getting signatures in, and Hammer feels aggrieved by his general treatment by the Secretary of State’s office.

He claims the office behaved “recklessly and harmfully” against him. Hammer seeks to be included on the November ballot. He will join three other independent candidates seeking the governor’s office as well as the Republican and Democrat nominee.

This legal dispute adds another interesting twist to the already event filled 2010 Maine governor’s race.