PRINTER'S NO. 1616
No. 1311 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, GEIST, GEORGE, GODSHALL,
HERSHEY, R. MILLER, REICHLEY, SANTONI AND SIPTROTH,
MAY 18, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 18, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
2 "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
3 special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
4 primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
5 and defining membership of county boards of elections;
6 imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
7 courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
8 imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
9 revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
10 repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
11 elections," eliminating cross-filing by candidates.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Section 630.1 of the act of June 3, 1937
15 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code,
16 amended May 12, 2006 (P.L.178, No.45), is amended to read:
17 Section 630.1. Affidavits of Candidates.--Each candidate for
18 any State, county, city, borough, incorporated town, township,
19 school district or poor district office, or for the office of
20 United States Senator or Representative in Congress, selected as
21 provided in section 630 of this act, shall file with the
22 nomination certificate an affidavit stating--(a) his residence,
1 with street and number, if any, and his post-office address; (b)
2 his election district, giving city, borough, town or township;
3 (c) the name of the office for which he consents to be a
4 candidate; (d) that he is eligible for such office; (e) that he
5 will not knowingly violate any provision of this act, or of any
6 law regulating and limiting election expenses and prohibiting
7 corrupt practices in connection therewith; (f) [unless he is a
8 candidate for judge of a court of common pleas, the Philadelphia
9 Municipal Court or the Traffic Court of Philadelphia, or for the
10 office of school board in a district where that office is
11 elective or for the office of justice of the peace,] that he is
12 not a candidate for the same office of any party or political
13 body other than the one designated in such certificate; (g) that
14 he is aware of the provisions of section 1626 of this act
15 requiring election and post-election reporting of campaign
16 contributions and expenditures; and (h) that he is not a
17 candidate for an office which he already holds, the term of
18 which is not set to expire in the same year as the office
19 subject to the affidavit.
20 Section 2. Section 909 of the act, amended February 19, 1986
21 (P.L.29, No.11), is amended to read:
22 Section 909. Petition May Consist of Several Sheets;
23 Affidavit of Circulator.--Said nomination petition may be on one
24 or more sheets, and different sheets must be used for signers
25 resident in different counties. If more than one sheet is used,
26 they shall be bound together when offered for filing if they are
27 intended to constitute one petition, and each sheet shall be
28 numbered consecutively beginning with number one, at the foot of
29 each page. In cases of petitions for delegate or alternate
30 delegate to National conventions, each sheet shall contain a
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1 notation indicating the presidential candidate to whom he is
2 committed or the term "uncommitted." Each sheet shall have
3 appended thereto the affidavit of the circulator of each sheet,
4 setting forth--(a) that he or she is a qualified elector duly
5 registered and enrolled as a member of the designated party of
6 the State, or of the political district, as the case may be,
7 referred to in said petition[, unless said petition relates to
8 the nomination of a candidate for a court of common pleas, for
9 the Philadelphia Municipal Court or for the Traffic Court of
10 Philadelphia or for justice of the peace, in which event the
11 circulator need not be a duly registered and enrolled member of
12 the designated party]; (b) his residence, giving city, borough
13 or township, with street and number, if any; (c) that the
14 signers thereto signed with full knowledge of the contents of
15 the petition; (d) that their respective residences are correctly
16 stated therein; (e) that they all reside in the county named in
17 the affidavit; (f) that each signed on the date set opposite his
18 name; and (g) that, to the best of affiant's knowledge and
19 belief, the signers are qualified electors and duly registered
20 and enrolled members of the designated party of the State, or of
21 the political district, as the case may be.
22 Section 3. Section 910 of the act, amended May 12, 2006
23 (P.L.178, No.45), is amended to read:
24 Section 910. Affidavits of Candidates.--Each candidate for
25 any State, county, city, borough, incorporated town, township,
26 ward, school district, poor district, election district, party
27 office, party delegate or alternate, or for the office of United
28 States Senator or Representative in Congress, shall file with
29 his nomination petition his affidavit stating--(a) his
30 residence, with street and number, if any, and his post-office
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1 address; (b) his election district, giving city, borough, town
2 or township; (c) the name of the office for which he consents to
3 be a candidate; (d) that he is eligible for such office; (e)
4 that he will not knowingly violate any provision of this act, or
5 of any law regulating and limiting nomination and election
6 expenses and prohibiting corrupt practices in connection
7 therewith; (f) [unless he is a candidate for judge of a court of
8 common pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or the Traffic
9 Court of Philadelphia, or for the office of school director in a
10 district where that office is elective or for the office of
11 justice of the peace] that he is not a candidate for nomination
12 for the same office of any party other than the one designated
13 in such petition; (g) if he is a candidate for a delegate, or
14 alternate delegate, member of State committee, National
15 committee or party officer, that he is a registered and enrolled
16 member of the designated party; (h) if he is a candidate for
17 delegate or alternate delegate the presidential candidate to
18 whom he is committed or the term "uncommitted"; (i) that he is
19 aware of the provisions of section 1626 of this act requiring
20 pre-election and post-election reporting of campaign
21 contributions and expenditures; and (j) that he is not a
22 candidate for an office which he already holds, the term of
23 which is not set to expire in the same year as the office
24 subject to the affidavit. In cases of petitions for delegate and
25 alternate delegate to National conventions, the candidate's
26 affidavit shall state that his signature to the delegate's
27 statement, as hereinafter set forth, if such statement is signed
28 by said candidate, was affixed to the sheet or sheets of said
29 petition prior to the circulation of same. In the case of a
30 candidate for nomination as President of the United States, it
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1 shall not be necessary for such candidate to file the affidavit
2 required in this section to be filed by candidates, but the
3 post-office address of such candidate shall be stated in such
4 nomination petition.
5 Section 4. Section 976 of the act, amended July 28, 1941
6 (P.L.526, No. 213) and February 19, 1986 (P.L.29, No.11) and
7 repealed in part April 28, 1978 (P.L.202, No.53), is amended to
8 read:
9 Section 976. Examination of Nomination Petitions,
10 Certificates and Papers; Return of Rejected Nomination
11 Petitions, Certificates and Papers.--When any nomination
12 petition, nomination certificate or nomination paper is
13 presented in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth or
14 of any county board of elections for filing within the period
15 limited by this act, it shall be the duty of the said officer or
16 board to examine the same. No nomination petition, nomination
17 paper or nomination certificate shall be permitted to be filed
18 if--(a) it contains material errors or defects apparent on the
19 face thereof, or on the face of the appended or accompanying
20 affidavits; or (b) it contains material alterations made after
21 signing without the consent of the signers; or (c) it does not
22 contain a sufficient number of signatures as required by law;
23 Provided, however, That the Secretary of the Commonwealth or the
24 county board of elections, although not hereby required so to
25 do, may question the genuineness of any signature or signatures
26 appearing thereon, and if he or it shall thereupon find that any
27 such signature or signatures are not genuine, such signature or
28 signatures shall be disregarded in determining whether the
29 nomination petition, nomination paper or nomination certificate
30 contains a sufficient number of signatures as required by law;
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1 or (d) in the case of nomination petitions, if nomination
2 petitions have been filed for printing the name of the same
3 person for the same office[, except the office of judge of a
4 court of common pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or the
5 Traffic Court of Philadelphia, or the office of school director
6 in districts where that office is elective or the office of
7 justice of the peace] upon the official ballot of more than one
8 political party; or (e) in the case of nomination papers, if the
9 candidate named therein has filed a nomination petition for any
10 public office for the ensuing primary, or has been nominated for
11 any such office by nomination papers previously filed; or (f) if
12 the nomination petitions or papers are not accompanied by the
13 filing fee or certified check required for said office; or (g)
14 in the case of nomination papers, the appellation set forth
15 therein is identical with or deceptively similar to the words
16 used by any existing party or by any political body which has
17 already filed nomination papers for the same office, or if the
18 appellation set forth therein contains part of the name, or an
19 abbreviation of the name or part of the name of an existing
20 political party, or of a political body which has already filed
21 nomination papers for the same office. The invalidity of any
22 sheet of a nomination petition or nomination paper shall not
23 affect the validity of such petition or paper if a sufficient
24 petition or paper remains after eliminating such invalid sheet.
25 The action of said officer or board in refusing to receive and
26 file any such nomination petition, certificate or paper, may be
27 reviewed by the court upon an application to compel its
28 reception as of the date when it was presented to the office of
29 such officer or board: Provided, however, That said officer or
30 board shall be entitled to a reasonable time in which to examine
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1 any petitions, certificates or papers, and to summon and
2 interrogate the candidates named therein, or the persons
3 presenting said petitions, certificates or papers, and his or
4 their retention of same for the purpose of making such
5 examination or interrogation shall not be construed as an
6 acceptance or filing.
7 Upon completion of any examination, if any nomination
8 petition, certificate or paper is found to be defective, it
9 shall forthwith be rejected and returned to the candidate or one
10 of the candidates named therein, together with a statement of
11 the reasons for such rejection:
12 Provided further, That no nomination petition, nomination
13 paper or nomination certificate shall be permitted to be filed,
14 if the political party or political body referred to therein
15 shall be composed of a group of electors whose purposes or aims,
16 or one of whose purposes or aims, is the establishment, control,
17 conduct, seizure or overthrow of the Government of the
18 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States of America by
19 the use of force, violence, military measure or threats of one
20 or more of the foregoing. The authority to reject such
21 nomination petition, paper or certificate for this reason shall,
22 when filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, be vested in
23 a committee composed of the Governor, the Attorney General and
24 the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and when filed with any
25 county board of elections shall be vested in such board. If in
26 such case the committee or board, as the case may be, shall
27 conclude that the acceptance of such nomination petition, paper
28 or certificate should be refused, it shall within two days of
29 the filing of such nomination petition, paper or certificate fix
30 a place and a time five days in advance for hearing the matter,
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1 and notice thereof shall be given to all parties affected
2 thereby. At the time and place so fixed the committee or board,
3 as the case may be, shall hear testimony, but shall not be bound
4 by technical rules of evidence. The testimony presented shall be
5 stenographically recorded and made a part of the record of the
6 committee or board. Within two days after such hearing the
7 committee or board, if satisfied upon competent evidence that
8 the said nomination petition, paper or certificate is not
9 entitled to be accepted and filed, it shall announce its
10 decision and immediately notify the parties affected thereby.
11 Failure to announce decision within two days after such hearing
12 shall be conclusive that such nomination petition, paper or
13 certificate has been accepted and filed. The decision of said
14 committee or board in refusing to accept and file such
15 nomination petition, paper or certificate may be reviewed by the
16 court upon an application to compel its reception as of the date
17 when presented to the Secretary of the Commonwealth or such
18 board. The application shall be made within two days of the time
19 when such decision is announced. If the application is properly
20 made, any judge of said court may fix a time and place for
21 hearing the matter in dispute, of which notice shall be served
22 with a copy of said application upon the Secretary of the
23 Commonwealth or the county board of elections, as the case may
24 be. At the time so fixed, the court, or any judge thereof
25 assigned for the purpose, shall hear the case de novo. If after
26 such hearing the said court shall find that the decision of the
27 committee or the board was erroneous, it shall issue its mandate
28 to the committee or board to correct its decision and to accept
29 and file the nomination paper, petition or certificate. From any
30 decision of the court an appeal may be taken within two days
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1 after the entry thereof. It shall be the duty of the said court
2 to fix the hearing and to announce its decision within such
3 period of time as will permit the Secretary of the Commonwealth
4 or the county board of elections to permit the names of the
5 candidates affected by the court's decision to be printed on the
6 ballot, if the court should so determine.
7 Section 5. Section 981.1 of the act, amended May 12, 2006
8 (P.L.178, No.45), is amended to read:
9 Section 981.1. Affidavits of Candidates.--Each candidate for
10 any State, county, city, borough, incorporated town, township,
11 ward, school district, poor district or election district
12 office, or for the office of United States Senator or
13 Representative in Congress, selected as provided in sections 979
14 and 980 of this act, shall file with the substituted nomination
15 certificate an affidavit stating--(a) his residence, with street
16 and number, if any, and his post-office address; (b) his
17 election district, giving city, borough, town or township; (c)
18 the name of the office for which he consents to be a candidate;
19 (d) that he is eligible for such office; (e) that he will not
20 knowingly violate any provision of this act, or of any law
21 regulating and limiting election expenses and prohibiting
22 corrupt practices in connection therewith; (f) [unless he is a
23 candidate for judge of a court of common pleas, the Philadelphia
24 Municipal Court or the Traffic Court of Philadelphia, or for the
25 office of school board in a district where that office is
26 elective or for the office of justice of the peace,] that he is
27 not a candidate for the same office of any party or political
28 body other than the one designated in such certificate; (g) that
29 he is aware of the provisions of section 1626 of this act
30 requiring election and post-election reporting of campaign
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1 contributions and expenditures; and (h) that he is not a
2 candidate for an office which he already holds, the term of
3 which is not set to expire in the same year as the office
4 subject to the affidavit.
5 Section 6. Sections 993(a), 998(a) and (b) and 1004 of the
6 act, amended February 19, 1986 (P.L.29, No.11), are amended to
7 read:
8 Section 993. Filling of Certain Vacancies in Public Office
9 by Means of Nomination Certificates and Nomination Papers.--(a)
10 In all cases where a vacancy shall occur for any cause in an
11 elective public office, including that of judge of a court of
12 record, at a time when such vacancy is required by the
13 provisions of the Constitution or the laws of this Commonwealth
14 to be filled at the ensuing election but at a time when
15 nominations for such office cannot be made under any other
16 provision of this act, nominations to fill such vacancies shall
17 be made by political parties in accordance with party rules
18 relating to the filling of vacancies by means of nomination
19 certificates in the form prescribed in section nine hundred
20 ninety-four of this act, and by political bodies by means of
21 nomination papers in accordance with the provisions of sections
22 nine hundred fifty-one, nine hundred fifty-two and nine hundred
23 fifty-four of this act. No such nomination certificate shall
24 nominate any person who has already been nominated by any other
25 political party or by any political body for the same office
26 [unless such person is a candidate for the office of judge of a
27 court of common pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or the
28 Traffic Court of Philadelphia, or for the office of school
29 director in districts where that office is elective or for the
30 office of justice of the peace]. No such nomination papers shall
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1 nominate any person who has already been nominated by any
2 political party or by any other political body for any office to
3 be filled at the ensuing November election[, unless such person
4 is a candidate for the office of judge of a court of common
5 pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or the Traffic Court of
6 Philadelphia, or for the office of school director in districts
7 where that office is elective or for the office of justice of
8 the peace].
9 * * *
10 Section 998. Substituted Nominations to Fill Certain
11 Vacancies for a November Election.--(a) Any vacancy happening
12 or existing in any party nomination made in accordance with the
13 provisions of section nine hundred ninety-three of this act for
14 a November election by reason of the death or withdrawal of any
15 candidate may be filled by a substituted nomination made by such
16 committee as is authorized by the rules of the party to make
17 nominations in the event of vacancies on the party ticket, in
18 the form prescribed by section nine hundred ninety-four of this
19 act. But no substituted nomination certificate shall nominate
20 any person who has already been nominated by any other political
21 party or by any political body for the same office[, unless such
22 person is a candidate for the office of judge of a court of
23 common pleas, the Philadelphia Municipal Court or the Traffic
24 Court of Philadelphia, or for the office of school director in
25 districts where that office is elective or for the office of
26 justice of the peace].
27 (b) In case of the death or withdrawal of any candidate
28 nominated by a political body for an election, the committee
29 named in the original nomination papers may nominate a
30 substitute in his place by filing a substituted nomination
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1 certificate in the form and manner prescribed by section nine
2 hundred eighty of this act. In the case of a vacancy caused by
3 the death of any candidate, said nomination certificate shall be
4 accompanied by a death certificate properly certified. No
5 substituted nomination certificate shall nominate any person who
6 has already been nominated by any political party or by any
7 other political body for any office to be filled at the ensuing
8 November election[, unless such person is a candidate for the
9 office of judge of a court of common pleas, the Philadelphia
10 Municipal Court or the Traffic Court of Philadelphia, or for the
11 office of school director in districts where that office is
12 elective or for the office of justice of the peace].
13 * * *
14 Section 1004. Form of Ballots; Printing Ballots; Stubs;
15 Numbers.--From the lists furnished by the Secretary of the
16 Commonwealth under the provisions of sections 915 and 984, and
17 from petitions and papers filed in their office, the county
18 election board shall print the official primary and election
19 ballots in accordance with the provisions of this act: Provided,
20 however, That in no event, shall the name of any person
21 consenting to be a candidate for nomination for any one office[,
22 except the office of judge of a court of common pleas, the
23 Philadelphia Municipal Court or the Traffic Court of
24 Philadelphia, or the office of school director in districts
25 where that office is elective or the office of justice of the
26 peace] be printed as a candidate for such office upon the
27 official primary ballot of more than one party. All ballots for
28 use in the same election district at any primary or election
29 shall be alike. They shall be at least six inches long and four
30 inches wide, and shall have a margin extending beyond any
20070H1311B1616 - 12 -
1 printing thereon. They shall be printed with the same kind of
2 type (which shall not be smaller than the size known as
3 "brevier" or "eight point body") upon white paper of uniform
4 quality, without any impression or mark to distinguish one from
5 another, and with sufficient thickness to prevent the printed
6 matter from showing through. Each ballot shall be attached to a
7 stub, and all the ballots for the same election district shall
8 be bound together in books of fifty, in such manner that each
9 ballot may be detached from its stub and removed separately. The
10 ballots for each party to be used at a primary shall be bound
11 separately. The stubs of the ballots shall be consecutively
12 numbered, and in the case of primary ballots, the number shall
13 be preceded by an initial or abbreviation designating the party
14 name. The number and initial or abbreviation which appears upon
15 the stub shall also be printed in the upper right hand corner of
16 the back of the ballot, separated from the remainder of the
17 ballot by a diagonal perforated line so prepared that the upper
18 right hand corner of the back of the ballot containing the
19 number may be detached from the ballot before it is deposited in
20 the ballot box and beside that corner shall also be printed,
21 "Remove numbered stub immediately before depositing your ballot
22 in ballot box."
23 Section 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
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