Lawyer: Green candidate's Senate petition is invalid
2006-09-15
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
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rss feedThe Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate has too few valid signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot, a lawyer for state Democrats told a judge yesterday.
A review of Carl Romanelli's nominating petitions has found more than 29,000 invalid signatures - which would leave Romanelli about 2,900 short of the 67,070-signature threshold he must meet to remain on the ballot, said the attorney, Clifford Levine.
Levine presented evidence supporting his contention to a Commonwealth Court judge on the first day of a hearing to determine whether Romanelli can appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Judge James R. Kelley ended the hearing after five hours of testimony without issuing a ruling. He said he would schedule a Sept. 25 hearing to allow Romanelli's lawyer to present evidence supporting his contention that numerous signatures deemed invalid should be accepted.
Romanelli's candidacy could hurt Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr.'s chances of unseating Rick Santorum, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, in one of the nation's hottest Senate races this year.
Casey's campaign and the state Democratic Party have accused Santorum of engineering Romanelli's candidacy. Santorum has openly supported Romanelli's candidacy, and Republicans helped bankroll his signature-gathering effort.
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