Pennsylvania holds partisan local elections this year, and holds primaries for those elections on May 15. Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert Cordaro, a Republican, was recently removed from the primary ballot for failing to file a complete financial interest statement. He is running as a write-in. Since Republican voters are permitted to nominate two candidates for that post, and since only one Republican is on the ballot, Cordaro is likely to re-nominated by write-in votes. There is another write-in candidate in the race as well. One of Cordaro’s political opponents has filed a new lawsuit, arguing that even if the voters to re-nominate him, he cannot be the Republican nominee, although few neutral observers expect that lawsuit to accomplish anything.

Lackawanna County Elections officials have ordered 1,200 rolls of sales receipt-like paper. When a voter casts a write-in, the machine prints 4 copies. Each roll is 86 feet long, so the combined total of paper is almost 20 miles.

Pennsylvania is one of the very few states in which all write-ins are valid. Pennsylvania has no requirement that a write-in candidate file a declaration of candidacy. Pennsylvania elections officials in some counties routinely break the law and don’t tally write-ins.