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UPDATED 6-17-2016: A Democratic state senator is the target of a lawsuit that seeks to keep her name off the 2016 election ballot.

Sen. Laura Thielen, who represents a district that includes Kailua, Lanikai, Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai, is accused of submitting incomplete nomination papers to the state .

The lawsuit was filed by ÌýChairman Fritz Rohlfing.ÌýHis attorney is Jim Hochberg, who has long been active in conservative causes.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the 1st Circuit Court of Hawaii, argued that three of the 17 signaturesÌýof registered voters listed on Thielen’s nomination papers are invalid.

Rohlfing alleged that the names of the three signatories do not match the names of actual registered voters.

The signatures of 15 valid registered voters are necessary for a candidate to qualify for the ballot. Because Thielen only has 14 valid signatories, she should be disqualified, the lawsuit said.

±«±è»å²¹³Ù±ð:ÌýRohlfing issuedÌýa statement Friday morning that read in part:

Thielen, who submitted a total of 25 signatures of which 17 were validated, sawÌýthings differently.

“The State Office of Elections certified that my nomination papers have more than enough valid signatures of registered voters,” ThielenÌýsaid. “The Republican Party is trying to invalidate voters by claiming that someone signing with their middle initial instead of a full middle name ‘doesn’t exist,’ despite the fact that their first and last name, middle initial, date of birth, Social Security number and address all match the voter registration database.”

Thielen added, “The Hawaii Republican Party has bigger things to worry about than trying to disenfranchise Hawaii voters.ÌýI’m confident the court will dismiss this frivolous claim.”

A spokesperson for the Office of Elections said Thielen’s candidacy was certified but would not comment on pending litigation.

Thielen is an attorney who previously served as chair of theÌýDepartment of Land and Natural Resources, agricultural liaison with the City and County of Honolulu and as director of the state Office of Planning.

SheÌýis unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, sheÌýwould face the winner of the Republican primary, which features Heather Dozier and Robert Nagamine.

Four years ago, when Thielen first ran for the state Senate, she was challenged by theÌý because it had concerns that Thielen had strong ties to Hawaii Republicans.

Her mother, Cynthia Thielen, is a Republican in the state House of Representatives. Laura Theilen was appointed to the DNLR by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.

Democrats also said Thielen had not been a party member in good standing for the six months required prior to filing to run for office.

The party eventuallyÌýdropped the challenge, citing expenses and concern about a lengthy legal process.

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