Third Parties Not Welcome In PA
The general election in PA will be a strictly bipartisan affair after a judget ordered several Libertarian candidates off the ballot on Wednesday.
The Libertarian candidates, running for GOV, LG and SEN, abandoned their legal fight over a GOP-backed challenge to their nominating petitions.
Gov. nominee Marakay Rogers, LG nominee Kat Valleley and Sen. nominee Douglas Jamison all got the boot from Judge P. Kevin Brobson after he spent 2 days scrutinizing their ballot petitions. The candidates all admitted they likely did not have the necessary number of valid signatures.
They were only the latest candidates to lose their places. Earlier in the week, SEN hopeful Mel Packer (Green) and GOV hopeful John Krupa running on the Tea Party ticket both ended their candidacies. In additon to the ballot challenge, Krupa's candidacy was marred by allegations that he was a Dem planted as a Tea Party candidate to draw votes away from GOP nominee Tom Corbett.
It's easy to boot candidates from the PA ballot because of a quirk in state law that requires candidates who lose challenges to their ballot status to pay for their challenger's legal fees. When Ralph Nader was kicked off the PA ballot in '04, he was forced to foot an $81,000 bill.
"These fees create a chilling effect," Oliver Hall, an attorney with the Center for Competitive Democracy told the Philadelphia City Paper. "The entire reason for being a third party is to recruit candidates and run them."
By forcing candidates who do not necessarily have enough ballot signatures to choose between risking a hefty courtroom bill or withdrawing from the race, the PA legal code has created an financial disincentive for third parties to fight to remain on the ballot. Even some major party candidates have suffered at the hands of the PA loophole. Joseph Vodvarka (D) dropped off the Dem primary ballot in April.
"I hear appeals are very expensive" Vodvarka said, explaining his decision not to continue his legal battle. "I'm probably not going to live that long ... Sometimes you have to be realistic."
PA's current legal regime is coming under more scrutiny, especially in this cycle. As the City Paper reports, the CCD filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Constitution, Libertarian and Green Parties against the PA system but it was thrown out last spring by a judge saying they lacked the standing to sue.