PRINTER'S NO. 449
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
495
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY FOLMER, TEPLITZ, SCAVELLO, YUDICHAK, WILLIAMS,
BAKER, WARD, VANCE, BLAKE AND BOSCOLA, FEBRUARY 18, 2015
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 18, 2015
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
and defining membership of county boards of elections;
imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
elections," in party organization, further providing for
definition of political parties and political bodies; and, in
nomination of candidates, further providing for nominations
by minor political parties and for nominations by political
bodies.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The Commonwealth's election laws hinder the entry
into the electoral process of independent candidates, thereby
limiting the electoral choices available to voters of this
Commonwealth.
(2) The political system of the Commonwealth should be
electorally inclusive in order to promote the broadest range
of issue discussion and candidate selection.
(3) Enhanced ballot access for all candidates will
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ensure a more democratic election process.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 801(a) of the act of June 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code,
amended December 22, 1971 (P.L.613, No.165), is amended to read:
Section 801. Definition of Political Parties and Political
Bodies.--
(a) Any party or political body, one of whose candidates at
the general election next preceding the primary polled in each
of at least ten counties of the State not less than two per
centum of the largest entire vote cast in each of said counties
for any elected candidate, and polled a total vote in the State
equal to at least two per centum of the largest entire vote cast
in the State for any elected candidate, or that has twenty-one
days prior to the date of the primary election, registered in
the name of that party a number of voters equal to at least five
one-hundredths of one per centum of the total number of voters
registered in the entire State as of December 31 of the year
immediately preceding the primary election is hereby declared to
be a political party within the State, and shall nominate all
its candidates for any of the offices provided for in this act,
and shall elect its delegates and alternate delegates to the
National convention as party rules provide. State committee
members, and also such party officers, including members of the
National committee, as its rules provide, shall be elected by a
vote of the party electors, in accordance with the provisions of
this act and party rules.
* * *
Section 2. Section 912.2(a) and (b) of the act, added
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February 19, 1986 (P.L.29, No.11), are amended to read:
Section 912.2. Nominations by Minor Political Parties.--(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision in this act to the contrary,
minor political parties shall nominate all of their candidates
for the offices to be filled at the ensuing November election
pursuant to section 903 in accordance with the [requirements of
section 951, other than subsection (e)(6) and (7) thereof, and
section 954, and shall obtain the required signatures during the
same time frame available to political bodies.] provisions of
this act and the minor political party rules, and shall notify
the Secretary of the Commonwealth in writing of the candidates
at least eight weeks in advance of the municipal or general
election. Minor political parties shall be subject to the
provisions of this act applicable to political parties with
respect to special elections, voter registration forms,
substituted nominations and all other purposes except as
otherwise expressly provided in this section. "Minor political
party" shall mean a political party as defined in section 801(a)
or (b) whose State-wide registration is less than fifteen per
centum of the combined State-wide registration for all State-
wide political parties as of the close of the registration
period immediately preceding the most recent November election.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall prescribe forms or, if
there is insufficient time, make appropriate conforming changes
in existing forms to carry out the purposes of this section.
[(b) All nomination papers circulated and filed pursuant to
this section shall specify--(1) the name or appellation of the
minor political party which the candidates nominated thereby
represent and, in the case of electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, the names of the candidates for
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President and Vice President of such minor political party; (2)
the name of each candidate nominated therein, his profession,
business or occupation, if any, and his place of residence with
street and number, if any; and (3) the office for which such
candidate is nominated. No words shall be used in any nomination
paper to designate the name or appellation of the minor
political party represented by the candidate's name in such
nomination paper which are identical with or deceptively similar
to the words used for a like purpose by any minor political
party which has already filed nomination papers for the same
office. Any petition to set aside a nomination paper on account
of the name or appellation used therein, or involving the right
of the signers thereof to use such name or appellation, or on
any other account, shall be decided as in the case of other
petitions to set aside nomination papers, in the manner provided
by this article.]
* * *
Section 3. Section 951(b) of the act, amended December 22,
1971 (P.L.613, No.165), is amended to read:
Section 951. Nominations by Political Bodies.--* * *
(b) Where the nomination is for any office to be filled by
the electors of the State at large, the number of qualified
electors of the State signing such nomination paper shall be at
least equal to [two per centum of the largest entire vote cast
for any elected candidate in the State at large at the last
preceding election at which State-wide candidates were voted
for. In the case of all other nominations, the number of
qualified electors of the electoral district signing such
nomination papers shall be at least equal to two per centum of
the largest entire vote cast for any officer, except a judge of
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a court of record, elected at the last preceding election in
said electoral district for which said nomination papers are to
be filed, and shall be not less than the number of signers
required for nomination petitions for party candidates for the
same office. In cases where a new electoral district shall have
been created, the number of qualified electors signing such
nomination papers, for candidates to be elected at the first
election held after the creation of such district, shall be at
least equal to two per centum of the largest vote cast in the
several election districts, which are included in the district
newly created, for any officer elected in the last preceding
election.] the number of signers required under section 912.1.
* * *
Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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