On August 24, a Commonwealth Court judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the legal required number of signatures this year for statewide minor party and independent candidates is 67,070 signatures, not 15,494. In re Nomination Paper of Romanelli, 426 M.D. 2006. That case will now be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It had been brought by the Green Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate. It had argued that the number of signatures should be based on the November 2005 statewide judicial retention election, not the November 2004 election.

Arkansas newspapers of August 24 report that Democratic and Republican Party officials, as well as the Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor, all say they agree with yesterday’s ballot access decision. That decision put the Green Party on the ballot and struck down Arkansas’ petition requirement for new parties.

The Secretary of State’s office says it will decide by August 25 whether to appeal the decision.

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.