Pa. agency issues election petition case guidance
The Pennsylvania Department of State is telling county elections offices that the state Supreme Court ruling this week regarding nominating petitions applies only to minor party candidates.
The agency on Friday said circulators of nomination petitions for candidates running in the Republican or Democratic primaries are still required to reside in the district where the candidate is running.
The unanimous Monday ruling by the high court resolved a conflict between state and federal court decisions regarding the Pennsylvania Election Code by enforcing a 2002 federal court injunction against the residency requirement.
A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, who won the case, says the residency restrictions for major party candidates also violate the First Amendment, but that would have to be resolved by another lawsuit.
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