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Presidential candidates must gain a certain number of signatures to see their names on ballots in congressional districts across the country.
It's a good thing when your campaign gains the needed 2000 "valid" signatures for your petitions. Ohio Governor John Kasich failed in that endeavor in Pennsylvania and in Illinois. In a Pennsylvania court, his attorney acknowledged the campaign had too few signatures.
The defense depends on the what the meaning of "deadline" is, not what rules dictate. Commentary about Illinois a few paragraphs down.
Judge Leadbetter said the case is “a matter of significance,” because Mr. Kasich is running for president and because there does not appear to be a legal precedent determining whether the deadline is 5 p.m. or midnight.
Pittsburg-Post-Gazette says:
Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s own lawyer agrees the presidential campaign submitted fewer valid signatures than are required for the candidate to appear on Pennsylvania’s primary ballot. But he argued in court Wednesday that it doesn’t matter because an objection to Mr. Kasich’s nominating petitions was filed 13 minutes too late.If Kasich has an Illinois challenge, he will not be on the ballot in the 1st, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th congressional districts –– if –– there's a challenge. There is no challenge.
At issue is whether challenges to Pennsylvania nominating petitions are due by 5 p.m. or 11:59 p.m. on the last day to file.
Attorneys for Mr. Kasich and the objector have stipulated that the campaign filed no more than 2,184 signatures with the state, and that 192 of those signatures were not valid. Republican and Democratic candidates for president must submit 2,000 signatures to appear on the ballot.
But the objection to Mr. Kasich’s nominating petition was filed at 5:13 p.m. on the last day to challenge nominating petitions, and his attorney argues that makes it 13 minutes too late to be considered. The objector’s attorney disagrees, saying there is no requirement that the filing be received by 5 p.m.
Both sides appeared Wednesday in Commonwealth Court, where Judge Bonnie Leadbetter said the matter may go to a three-judge panel. She set deadlines of next Monday and Wednesday for additional briefs.
Judge Leadbetter said the case is “a matter of significance,” because Mr. Kasich is running for president and because there does not appear to be a legal precedent determining whether the deadline is 5 p.m. or midnight.
So Kasich will be on the ballot. But considering that he couldn’t even scrape together a couple thousand signatures of people saying “sure it’s fine, you can run,” it’s hard to imagine he’s going to do well.From the file of Maggie at Maggies Note Book
UPI explains the districts where Kasich failed: the South Side of Chicago (1st), Madison County in the southernmost part of the state (12th), the city of Champaign in central Illinois (13th), parts of DeKalb and DuPage counties in the Chicago suburbs (14th), southeastern Illinois (15th) and north-central Illinois, including Rockford (16th).
You know, places with population.
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