BANGOR -- A federal judge has rejected a Kennebunkport woman's lawsuit seeking to get onto the Nov. 4 ballot as a Senate candidate.

District Judge John Woodcock denied Laurie Dobson's motion that would have stopped the printing of ballots so her name could be added.

Dobson (seen in photo at left) fell 160 signatures short of the 4,000 required to get her name on the ballot as an independent candidate. She says some of her signatures arrived from registrars after the June 2 deadline for submitting them to the secretary of state.

Woodcock had little sympathy. In his 22-page ruling Tuesday, he wrote that there's "no constitutional right to procrastination."

Copyright 2008 Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.