On August 26, the Constitution Party submitted another 8,000 signatures, to supplement the 22,000 they submitted on the legal deadline, August 1. Not surprisingly, the Pennsylvania Elections Department rejected the additional signatures. The requirement is 24,666 signatures.
The Constitution Party will sue to overturn the August 1 deadline, on two grounds: (1) it is too early and violates Anderson v Celebrezze; (2) the August 1 deadline was never passed or created by the Pennsylvania state legislature. It was created in 1984 in an effort by the Secretary of State to settle two lawsuits, filed by the Libertarian Party and the Communist Party. The statutory deadline is in May, but the state in the 1984 agreement promised to accept petitions up until August 1. Under the federal court ruling in Ohio last month, ballot access laws for president are not valid unless they were passed by a state legislature. Article II of the U.S. Constitution says, “Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors.”
30,000 total signatures against a requirement of 24,666 valid signatures still doesn’t guarantee ballot access even if the state if forced to accept them.
California [Alan Keyes high jacking, along with John Blare’s similar SUCESSFUL activities with the Reform Party of California] is a lost cause.
Remember, Presidential write ins have to have established federal electors! [Naders folks blew it in P2004!]
Good luck in the Key Stone state! More candidates, more democracy!
If the state is forced to accept the 30,000 signatures, Baldwin will be on the ballot. Petitions are deemed to be OK in Pennsylvania if they have more than the legal requirement, if no one challenges.