Third Party candidate Carl Romanelli is on the hook for $80,407. Tom Infield writes on Philly.com the Green Party candidate in Pennsylvania’s 2006 Senate race and/or his lawyer will have to pay the court that significant sum of money because he did not have enough signatures to make it onto the ballot. It appears he lost his last appeal.
Democrats challenged if Romanelli had enough real signatures on the ballot. Infield explained, “(Romanelli had) to obtain a number of signatures equal to 2 percent of the votes received by the most popular candidate in the last statewide election.” A judge ruled that Romanelli did not have enough signatures to make it onto the ballot and was tossed-off the ballot and had to pay court costs.
The Thirds believes that if Romanelli did have forged signature,s he should pay that much money if not more. Election fraud is a terrible thing. What happened here is not clear. What is clear, Pennsylvania’s rules for Third Party candidates are extremely unfair and not democratic.
Infield explained the terrible rules in the Key Stone State, “...major-party candidates needed only 2,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. But a minor-party candidate, such as Romanelli, has to meet a much higher standard of electoral credibility… The candidate has to obtain a number of signatures equal to 2 percent of the votes received by the most popular candidate in the last statewide election… Romanelli needed to obtain a record 60,070 signatures.”
Once you get to that high number there are still problems. “If you're registered as Abraham Lincoln but sign as Abe Lincoln, your signature can be ruled out. The name has to be the same as on the registration form,” Infield explained.
This registration issue should be a major rallying cry and uniting forces of all Third Parties, independents and Tea Party activists.
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