Third Parties Not Welcome In PA

[ccharles000]

The general election in PA will be a strictly bipartisan affair after a judge ordered several Libertarian candidates off the ballot on Wednesday.

The Libertarian candidates, running for GOV, LG and SEN, abandoned their legal fight over a GOP-backed challenge to their nominating petitions.

Gov. nominee Marakay Rogers, LG nominee Kat Valleley and Sen. nominee Douglas Jamison all got the boot from Judge P. Kevin Brobson after he spent 2 days scrutinizing their ballot petitions. The candidates all admitted they likely did not have the necessary number of valid signatures.

They were only the latest candidates to lose their places. Earlier in the week, SEN hopeful Mel Packer (Green) and GOV hopeful John Krupa running on the Tea Party ticket both ended their candidacies. In additon to the ballot challenge, Krupa's candidacy was marred by allegations that he was a Dem planted as a Tea Party candidate to draw votes away from GOP nominee Tom Corbett.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/08/third_parties_n.php

[onehandle]

1. Bad. Most places third parties hurt Republicans more than Democrats. nt

[LAGC]

2. You mean there's actually a TEA PARTY ticket?

They are running as their own party? I just assumed they'd all vote Republican.

Lord help us...

[old mark]

3. PA allows 3rd parties on the ballots ONLY IF they present petitions with the

required number of signatures...and those signatures are subject to verification, so if enough people sigh "Donald Duck" or similar fake names the candidate may be removed...we are also noted for crooked politicians and judges an dback room deals that would make even California legislators nervous...or jealous...


The GOP candidate for governor is the current state attorney general,who is under suspicion for fraud...he replaced an AG who went to prison...

mark

[Cosmocat]

4. It is VERY prohibitive against third parties ...

In order to get on the ballot for a statewide office it takes something like 2000 signatures for a D or R. Any other party has to get a number of signatures based on a percentage of the turnout in the primary - in this case, some of these candidates had 18,000+ signatures and were bumped off the ballot ...

It is really very unfair ...

[old mark]

9. Yes - IIRC, thrid parties need 20,000 signatures rather than 2,000 for the D or R candidates...

I ALWAYS sign these things,no matter what the party, just to add a little diference...PA state politics has been known for dishonesty since the revolutionary war era and has not improved much over the years...


mark

[krabigirl]

5. Horrible. Nt

[msanthrope]

6. Damn right--the Greens accepted Repuke money to run against Sestak...he was right to sue.

As they've been doing since 2006, the Green Party used Repuke money and canvassers to get nominating petitions done.

Sestak sued. And as usual, the Green Party couldn't come up with legitimate signatures--so they withdrew.

[derby378]

7. Meanwhile, down in Texas...

...our GOP did the same thing to get nominating petitions done, and they won. We're going to have Greens, bankrolled by Republicans, on the November ballot.

If the Greens had managed to get on the ballot under their own power, I wouldn't have any problem with them. But they didn't.

[msanthrope]

8. The Greens gladly took Repuke money--and there's posters on here

who would defend it, too.

Here, in PA, the nominating petitions get a bit of scrutiny, and that's the only way to keep the fringe off.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Better headline: 3rd Party Candidates Who Fail to Collect Enough Signatures not Welcome in PA