On August 23, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Ralph Nader must pay approximately $80,000 in court costs, stemming from the challenge to his signatures in 2004. In re Nomination Paper of Nader, 17 MAP 2005. In Pennsylvania, when a candidate’s petition is challenged by private individuals or groups, the courts themselves must handle the signature-by-signature analysis of whether there are enough valid signatures. If the candidate is told he or she doesn’t have enough signatures, according to today’s ruling, the candidate must pay the court costs.
It appears that the PA Supreme Court want to place a chilling effect on any candidate considering a recount. With this ruling I expect the court costs for recounts will skyrocket by 2008. Does anyone know of a story detailing the history/chronology of the Nader campaign’s fight for ballot access? He’s been treated like a criminal. There’s enough material here for a book.
The would only be fair if the challenger had to pay if the challenge did not succeed.