State Sen. Darrel Aubertine's campaign says that even though the state Board of Elections counted enough valid signatures for Republican candidate Patty Ritchie to appear on the Taxpayer Party line on the November ballot, the challenge was called for.

"The board ruled some 1,100 signatures were invalid, be it because they were from people not registered in this district or who had already signed a petition, and the objectors questioned nearly 2,000 for any number of reasons after observing the haphazard way these were collected," Aubertine's spokesman Drew Mangione said.

The statement comes after a spokeswoman for Ritchie called Aubertine's challenge "a desperate attempt." An Aubertine appeal of the Board of Elections decision was denied in state court.

The Board of Elections review ruled that 3,331 of the 4,479 signatures were valid, 331 more than were needed to get her name in gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino's Taxpayer Party slot.

"The court has made its decision and the matter is over," Mangione said.

Ritchie is challenging Senator Darrel Aubertine for the 48th District position.

Ritchie's name will be on the Republican, Conservative and Taxpayer party lines; Aubertine's name will appear on the Democratic and Independence party ballot lines.