Regular Session 2017-2018 House Bill 1825 P.N. 2482

PRINTER'S NO. 2482

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

1825

Session of

2017

INTRODUCED BY MASSER, MILLARD, PICKETT, WARD, MILNE, A. HARRIS

AND WHEELAND, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

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 nomination of candidates, further providing

for determination and certification of Statewide and

countywide parties, for municipal clerks and party chairmen

to furnish information as to offices to be filled, for

Secretary of the Commonwealth to notify county board of

certain nominations to be made, for manner of signing

nomination petitions and time of circulating, for place and

time of filing nomination petitions and filing fees, for

setting aside nominations of candidates and for objections to

nomination petitions and papers.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Sections 901, 904, 905, 908, 913(d), 922.1 and

977 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the

Pennsylvania Election Code, are amended to read:

Section 901. Determination and Certification of State-wide

and County-wide Parties.--(a) The Secretary of the Commonwealth

shall determine which organizations are political parties within

the State, within the meaning of section 801(a) of this act, and

not later than the [thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday preceding

each primary shall transmit to each county board a list of said

political parties which shall be entitled to nominate candidates

at primaries.

(b) Each county board shall determine which organizations

are political parties within the county, within the meaning of

section 801(b), and not later than the [thirteenth] fourteenth

Tuesday preceding each primary shall transmit to the Secretary

of the Commonwealth a list of said political parties which shall

be entitled to nominate candidates at primaries in said county.

Section 904. Municipal Clerks and Party Chairmen to Furnish

Information as to Offices to Be Filled.--To assist the

respective county boards in ascertaining the offices to be

filled, it shall be the duty of the clerks or secretaries of the

various cities, boroughs, towns, townships and school districts,

with the advice of their respective solicitors, on or before the

[thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday preceding the Municipal primary,

to send to the county boards of their respective counties a

written notice setting forth all city, borough, town, township

and school district offices to be filled in their respective

subdivisions at the ensuing municipal election, and for which

candidates are to be nominated at the ensuing primary. It shall

also be the duty of the chairman of the State committee of each

political party to forward to the Secretary of the Commonwealth

and to the respective county boards, on or before the

[thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday preceding the General primary, a

written notice setting forth the number of delegates and

alternate delegates to the National convention of such party who

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are to be elected in the State at large at the ensuing primary,

and the number of such delegates and alternate delegates who are

to be elected at said primary in such county, or in any district

within such county, or of which it forms a part. The said notice

shall also set forth the number of members of the National

committee, if any, who, under the National party rules, are to

be elected at the said primary in the State at large, and the

number of members of the State committee to be elected at the

said primary in such county, or in any district, or part of a

district within such county. It shall also be the duty of the

chairman of the county committee and, in cases where a city is

coextensive with a county, the chairman of the city committee of

each party, on or before the thirteenth Tuesday preceding the

General primary, to send to the county board of such county a

written notice setting forth all party offices to be filled in

the county at the ensuing primary.

Section 905. Secretary of the Commonwealth to Notify County

Board of Certain Nominations to Be Made.--On or before the

[thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday preceding each primary, the

Secretary of the Commonwealth shall send to the county board of

each county a written notice designating all the offices for

which candidates are to be nominated therein, or in any district

of which such county forms a part, or in the State at large, at

the ensuing primary, and for the nomination to which candidates

are required to file nomination petitions in the office of the

Secretary of the Commonwealth, including that of President of

the United States; and shall also in said notice set forth the

number of presidential electors, United States Senators,

Representatives in Congress and State officers, including

senators, representatives and judges of courts of record, to be

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elected at the succeeding November election by a vote of the

electors of the State at large, or by a vote of the electors of

the county, or of any district therein, or of any district of

which such county forms a part.

Section 908. Manner of Signing Nomination Petitions; Time of

Circulating.--Each signer of a nomination petition shall sign

but one such petition for each office to be filled, and shall

declare therein that he is a registered and enrolled member of

the party designated in such petition: Provided, however, That

where there are to be elected two or more persons to the same

office, each signer may sign petitions for as many candidates

for such office as, and no more than, he could vote for at the

succeeding election. He shall also declare therein that he is a

qualified elector of the county therein named, and in case the

nomination is not to be made or candidates are not to be elected

by the electors of the State at large, of the political district

therein named, in which the nomination is to be made or the

election is to be held. He shall add his residence, giving city,

borough or township, with street and number, if any, and shall

legibly print his name and add the date of signing, expressed in

words or numbers: Provided, however, That if the said political

district named in the petition lies wholly within any city,

borough or township, or is coextensive with same, it shall not

be necessary for any signer of a nomination petition to state

therein the city, borough or township of his residence. No

nomination petition shall be circulated prior to the

[thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday before the primary, and no

signature shall be counted unless it bears a date affixed not

earlier than the [thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday nor later than

the [tenth] eleventh Tuesday prior to the primary.

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Section 913. Place and Time of Filing Nomination Petitions;

Filing Fees.--* * *

(d) All nomination petitions shall be filed on or before the

[tenth] eleventh Tuesday prior to the primary.

* * *

Section 922.1. Setting Aside Nominations of Candidates.--

With respect to any office that was in existence on the

[thirteenth] fourteenth Tuesday before the primary and for which

nominations were made at the primary or by nomination papers,

whenever it shall appear that said office has been abolished in

accordance with any act of assembly or legal proceeding, the

county board of elections shall set aside all nominations made

for any such office and shall remove such office block affected,

if any, from the ballots or ballot labels for the ensuing

November election.

Section 977. Objections to Nomination Petitions and

Papers.--All nomination petitions and papers received and filed

within the periods limited by this act shall be deemed to be

valid, unless, within seven days after the last day for filing

said nomination petition or paper, a petition is presented to

the court specifically setting forth the objections thereto, and

praying that the said petition or paper be set aside. A copy of

said petition shall, within said period, be served on the

officer or board with whom said nomination petition or paper was

filed. Upon the presentation of such a petition, the court shall

make an order fixing a time for hearing which shall not be later

than ten days after the last day for filing said nomination

petition or paper, and specifying the time and manner of notice

that shall be given to the candidate or candidates named in the

nomination petition or paper sought to be set aside. On the day

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fixed for said hearing, the court shall proceed without delay to

hear said objections, and shall give such hearing precedence

over other business before it, and shall finally determine said

matter not later than fifteen (15) days after the last day for

filing said nomination petitions or papers. In the event that

the determination is appealed, the court shall make a final

determination on the appeal no later than twenty-five (25) days

after the last day for filing nomination petitions or papers. If

the court shall find that said nomination petition or paper is

defective under the provisions of section 976, or does not

contain a sufficient number of genuine signatures of electors

entitled to sign the same under the provisions of this act, or

was not filed by persons entitled to file the same, it shall be

set aside. If the objections relate to material errors or

defects apparent on the face of the nomination petition or

paper, the court, after hearing, may, in its discretion, permit

amendments within such time and upon such terms as to payment of

costs, as the said court may specify. In case any such petition

is dismissed, the court shall make such order as to the payment

of the costs of the proceedings, including witness fees, as it

shall deem just. If a person shall sign any nomination petitions

or papers for a greater number of candidates than he is

permitted under the provisions of this act, if said signatures

bear the same date, they shall, upon objections filed thereto,

not be counted on any petition or paper and if they bear

different dates, they shall be counted in the order of their

priority of date, for only so many persons as there are

candidates to be nominated or elected. The office of the

Prothonotary of the Commonwealth Court and the office of the

Secretary of the Commonwealth and the various offices of

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prothonotary of the court of common pleas shall be open between

the hours of eight-thirty o'clock A.M. and five o'clock P.M. on

the last day to withdraw after filing nomination petitions and

on the last day to file objections to nomination petitions.

Section 2. The amendment of sections 901, 904, 905, 908,

913(d), 922.1 and 977 of the act shall apply to elections held

after December 31, 2017.

Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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