ClydeR
09-09-2008, 11:58 AM
Pennsylvania is expected to be close in the presidential race again this year. The outcome might be determined by whether or not third-party candidates are listed on the ballot.
Two pending cases involve third-party candidates for the White House.
Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia who was a persistent critic of then-President Clinton, was picked as the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in May. However, state party leaders waited until just before last month's deadline to substitute Barr's name for a placeholder candidate designated when they began gathering signatures in February.
Some Republicans have expressed concern that Barr's candidacy could take votes away from Republican nominee John McCain.
Victor Stabile, the Cumberland County Republican Party chairman, is seeking to knock Barr off the Pennsylvania ballot on grounds that the Libertarian Party misled people who signed its petitions. Stabile has acknowledged that the election code allows such substitutions within an allotted period, but that he feels that this case "crosses the line." A hearing in the case was held in Philadelphia on Friday.
In the other case, the Constitution Party filed suit in federal court in Harrisburg, alleging that the state's Aug. 1 petition filing deadline is overly burdensome and unconstitutional.
The party, which failed to collect enough signatures by the deadline, is hoping to get its candidates for president—Chuck Baldwin, a Baptist minister and radio talk-show host from Florida—and vice president added to the Pennsylvania ballot.
However it all shakes out, election season in Pennsylvania is typically accompanied by a surge in litigation. This year is obviously no exception.
More... (http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10398501)
:fyi:-RCP Pennsylvania polls (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/pa/pennsylvania_mccain_vs_obama-244.html)
Two pending cases involve third-party candidates for the White House.
Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia who was a persistent critic of then-President Clinton, was picked as the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in May. However, state party leaders waited until just before last month's deadline to substitute Barr's name for a placeholder candidate designated when they began gathering signatures in February.
Some Republicans have expressed concern that Barr's candidacy could take votes away from Republican nominee John McCain.
Victor Stabile, the Cumberland County Republican Party chairman, is seeking to knock Barr off the Pennsylvania ballot on grounds that the Libertarian Party misled people who signed its petitions. Stabile has acknowledged that the election code allows such substitutions within an allotted period, but that he feels that this case "crosses the line." A hearing in the case was held in Philadelphia on Friday.
In the other case, the Constitution Party filed suit in federal court in Harrisburg, alleging that the state's Aug. 1 petition filing deadline is overly burdensome and unconstitutional.
The party, which failed to collect enough signatures by the deadline, is hoping to get its candidates for president—Chuck Baldwin, a Baptist minister and radio talk-show host from Florida—and vice president added to the Pennsylvania ballot.
However it all shakes out, election season in Pennsylvania is typically accompanied by a surge in litigation. This year is obviously no exception.
More... (http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_10398501)
:fyi:-RCP Pennsylvania polls (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/pa/pennsylvania_mccain_vs_obama-244.html)