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"The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania applauds the ruling in U.S. District Court for the Easter District of Pennsylvania (on July 23, 2015), in which two parts of the Commonwealth's Election Code was determined to be unconstitutional. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, under its Declaration of Rights (Article 1) states that "Elections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage." Despite this language in our Constitution, elections have not been free and equal. With the recent ruling, we have moved towards a more level playing field. Specifically, the "major parties" cannot threaten third parties and their candidates with the costs associated with a challenge of signatures on nominating papers (petitions); additionally, the current method to determine the number of signatures needed to place candidates on the ballot was determined to be unconstitutional. Much remains to to be done, and we, the members of the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania, must continue our efforts to not only place candidates on the ballot, but to get them elected so that we can bring our Commonwealth back to the principles in our Constitution. As such, we recognize this ruling was a positive step, but it is just one of many that we must make." ~ CPPA State Chairman Alan R. Goodrich Sr.
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THE CONSTITUTION PARTY OF PENNSYLVANIA v. PEDRO CORTES
Pennsylvania Statewide Requirement for 2016 Will be 5,000 Signatures, with Severe Distribution Requirement for Statewide State Office
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Petition Appeal
| 2020_cppa_petition_appeal.doc |
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Press Release
| 2020_cppa_press_release.doc |
PENNSYLVANIA ENDS NOTARIZATION
B.A.N. recently learned that late in 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature repealed the law requiring ballot access petitions to be notarized. The repeal was included in SB 421, the same bill that expanded voting rights and eliminated the straight-ticket device.
B.A.N. recently learned that late in 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature repealed the law requiring ballot access petitions to be notarized. The repeal was included in SB 421, the same bill that expanded voting rights and eliminated the straight-ticket device.
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Petition Appeal
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 1782, Lancaster, PA 17608
April 20, 2020
Dear Governor Tom Wolf, Lt. Governor John Fetterman, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan M. Marks, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, and State Government Committee chairs Rep. Garth Everett, Rep. Kevin Boyle, Sen. John Disanto, Sen. Anthony Williams:
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has run statewide candidates for many election cycles and has petitioned to obtain ballot access successfully in recent years including 2016 and 2018. In preparation for the 2020 elections, CPPA has leaned forward in a commitment to have candidates on the ballot; work that we have done includes coordinating volunteers, as well as planning campaigns and ballot access efforts across the state.
We are confident that we would be successful again and qualify for ballot access for Constitution Party candidates in 2020 -- were it not for the urgent, severe threat posed by COVID-19 this year that has made typical petitioning operations impossible.
Many public and private events began to be canceled prior to official government action. The CDC has recommended cancelation of public events and for people to practice social distancing for as long as it takes to slow the spread of the virus. In response, Governor Wolf has issued several executive orders to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, including “stay-at-home” orders which affect the Commonwealth’s largest population centers, where most of our signatures are collected.
Currently, the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania is required to obtain a minimum of 5,000 petition signatures from registered voters to ensure the Presidential candidate is on the ballot. Due to potential voter registration and other validity problems, in practice Constitution Party members must collect about double that number to ensure ballot access. This signature requirement as a result is much higher than the requirement for Democratic and Republican Party candidates, requiring Constitution Party members to potentially interact with tens of thousands of voters in order to collect the needed number of signatures. To offset the higher requirements, we are allocated a much longer period of time to collect signatures. In 2020, petitioning for Constitution Party candidates was set by law between February 19, 2020, and August 3, 2020, the final date to file.
However, shortly after the February 19 starting date, public and private events which Constitution Party volunteers rely on to meet voters and collect signatures began canceling. In early March, state and federal guidance began encouraging more widespread event cancellation and social distancing, resulting in Governor Wolf issuing a series of executing orders, including closing “non-essential” businesses by March 19. As a result, Constitution Party volunteers have had very little time to successfully petition, and given that the Pennsylvania Primary Election has been moved to June 2 and many legislators are even considering switching to a mail-in vote to continue social distancing, clearly the expectation is for COVID-19 action to continue into the summer. Under these circumstances, there is a strong possibility that the Constitution Party will be unable to petition in any realistic manner during the legally mandated petitioning period.
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Governor and General Assembly order the Department of State to take account of these radically changed circumstances and take immediate emergency action to honor the right of our political party and its candidates for President, Vice President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives to appear on the General Election ballot.
We ask that the petition signature requirement for the statewide ballot be waived or suspended for the current election cycle for the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania’s statewide candidates. We would be supportive of other political bodies and independent candidates also being granted a waiver.
We also ask for similar relief for all Constitution Party candidates planning to petition to attain ballot status for state-level races in the General Assembly.
We are happy to discuss the issue further and may be contacted via email at chairman@constitutionpartypa.com or vicechairman@constitutionpartypa.com, or via phone at (814) 258-5218. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
A.R. (Bob) Goodrich
Chairman, Constitution Party of Pennsylvania
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 1782, Lancaster, PA 17608
April 20, 2020
Dear Governor Tom Wolf, Lt. Governor John Fetterman, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan M. Marks, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, and State Government Committee chairs Rep. Garth Everett, Rep. Kevin Boyle, Sen. John Disanto, Sen. Anthony Williams:
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has run statewide candidates for many election cycles and has petitioned to obtain ballot access successfully in recent years including 2016 and 2018. In preparation for the 2020 elections, CPPA has leaned forward in a commitment to have candidates on the ballot; work that we have done includes coordinating volunteers, as well as planning campaigns and ballot access efforts across the state.
We are confident that we would be successful again and qualify for ballot access for Constitution Party candidates in 2020 -- were it not for the urgent, severe threat posed by COVID-19 this year that has made typical petitioning operations impossible.
Many public and private events began to be canceled prior to official government action. The CDC has recommended cancelation of public events and for people to practice social distancing for as long as it takes to slow the spread of the virus. In response, Governor Wolf has issued several executive orders to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, including “stay-at-home” orders which affect the Commonwealth’s largest population centers, where most of our signatures are collected.
Currently, the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania is required to obtain a minimum of 5,000 petition signatures from registered voters to ensure the Presidential candidate is on the ballot. Due to potential voter registration and other validity problems, in practice Constitution Party members must collect about double that number to ensure ballot access. This signature requirement as a result is much higher than the requirement for Democratic and Republican Party candidates, requiring Constitution Party members to potentially interact with tens of thousands of voters in order to collect the needed number of signatures. To offset the higher requirements, we are allocated a much longer period of time to collect signatures. In 2020, petitioning for Constitution Party candidates was set by law between February 19, 2020, and August 3, 2020, the final date to file.
However, shortly after the February 19 starting date, public and private events which Constitution Party volunteers rely on to meet voters and collect signatures began canceling. In early March, state and federal guidance began encouraging more widespread event cancellation and social distancing, resulting in Governor Wolf issuing a series of executing orders, including closing “non-essential” businesses by March 19. As a result, Constitution Party volunteers have had very little time to successfully petition, and given that the Pennsylvania Primary Election has been moved to June 2 and many legislators are even considering switching to a mail-in vote to continue social distancing, clearly the expectation is for COVID-19 action to continue into the summer. Under these circumstances, there is a strong possibility that the Constitution Party will be unable to petition in any realistic manner during the legally mandated petitioning period.
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Governor and General Assembly order the Department of State to take account of these radically changed circumstances and take immediate emergency action to honor the right of our political party and its candidates for President, Vice President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives to appear on the General Election ballot.
We ask that the petition signature requirement for the statewide ballot be waived or suspended for the current election cycle for the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania’s statewide candidates. We would be supportive of other political bodies and independent candidates also being granted a waiver.
We also ask for similar relief for all Constitution Party candidates planning to petition to attain ballot status for state-level races in the General Assembly.
We are happy to discuss the issue further and may be contacted via email at chairman@constitutionpartypa.com or vicechairman@constitutionpartypa.com, or via phone at (814) 258-5218. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
A.R. (Bob) Goodrich
Chairman, Constitution Party of Pennsylvania
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Press Release
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 1782, Lancaster, PA 17608
PRESS RELEASE; April 20, 2020
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Requests Relief from Signature Requirement
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has formally requested that Governor Tom Wolf eliminate the requirement to petition and collect signatures to get candidates on the ballot for the 2020 Presidential election. The request, sent to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Deputy Secretary for Elections, seeks to allow CPPA candidates on the ballot because of the restrictions placed upon social contact during the current COVID-19 situation.
CPPA Chairman Bob Goodrich acknowledged that the Constitution Party is working with the Libertarian and Green Parties in this request. These minor parties have the requirement to collect additional signatures to get candidates on the ballot. Their efforts to collect signatures have been hampered by “social distancing” restrictions.
Goodrich stated, “In order to place a Presidential candidate on the ballot, we need 5,000 valid signatures from registered Pennsylvania voters. Because of the COVID-19 virus and our inability to collect signatures at the present time, we are really challenged with our ability to collect enough signatures to place our candidate on the ballot.” Goodrich also noted that the CPPA, as a minor party, is required to collect more signatures than the major political parties. “So, we have to collect more signatures and already we have gone through just about one half of the time to collect those signatures. As Americans, we should have the right to vote for the candidate of our choice and history has demonstrated that it takes placing a candidate on the ballot to get votes. As a member of the Constitution Party, we have ideas – and a platform – that we believe will move our country in the right direction. Getting on the ballot is part of getting our message out. Finally, as a former soldier, I value elections and the election process. Our Pennsylvania Constitution states that ‘Elections shall be free and equal’ (Article I, Section 5), and how can they be equal if we don’t have the opportunity to get our candidate on the ballot?”
The CPPA acknowledges that these are unique times, and perhaps unique steps are required to hold a fair election. Already, the Pennsylvania primary (for the major political parties) has been moved to accommodate the COVID-19 crisis. As we are uncertain as to future ramifications of the virus as well as the timing of the lifting of restrictions, we know that it may take several months for life to return to a sense of normalcy. By this time, it might to too late to get candidates on the ballot unless there is some form of relief on the signature requirement.
Additional information on the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania, the party platform, candidates, and campaigns can be found at www.constitutionpartypa.com.
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 1782, Lancaster, PA 17608
PRESS RELEASE; April 20, 2020
Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Requests Relief from Signature Requirement
The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has formally requested that Governor Tom Wolf eliminate the requirement to petition and collect signatures to get candidates on the ballot for the 2020 Presidential election. The request, sent to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Deputy Secretary for Elections, seeks to allow CPPA candidates on the ballot because of the restrictions placed upon social contact during the current COVID-19 situation.
CPPA Chairman Bob Goodrich acknowledged that the Constitution Party is working with the Libertarian and Green Parties in this request. These minor parties have the requirement to collect additional signatures to get candidates on the ballot. Their efforts to collect signatures have been hampered by “social distancing” restrictions.
Goodrich stated, “In order to place a Presidential candidate on the ballot, we need 5,000 valid signatures from registered Pennsylvania voters. Because of the COVID-19 virus and our inability to collect signatures at the present time, we are really challenged with our ability to collect enough signatures to place our candidate on the ballot.” Goodrich also noted that the CPPA, as a minor party, is required to collect more signatures than the major political parties. “So, we have to collect more signatures and already we have gone through just about one half of the time to collect those signatures. As Americans, we should have the right to vote for the candidate of our choice and history has demonstrated that it takes placing a candidate on the ballot to get votes. As a member of the Constitution Party, we have ideas – and a platform – that we believe will move our country in the right direction. Getting on the ballot is part of getting our message out. Finally, as a former soldier, I value elections and the election process. Our Pennsylvania Constitution states that ‘Elections shall be free and equal’ (Article I, Section 5), and how can they be equal if we don’t have the opportunity to get our candidate on the ballot?”
The CPPA acknowledges that these are unique times, and perhaps unique steps are required to hold a fair election. Already, the Pennsylvania primary (for the major political parties) has been moved to accommodate the COVID-19 crisis. As we are uncertain as to future ramifications of the virus as well as the timing of the lifting of restrictions, we know that it may take several months for life to return to a sense of normalcy. By this time, it might to too late to get candidates on the ballot unless there is some form of relief on the signature requirement.
Additional information on the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania, the party platform, candidates, and campaigns can be found at www.constitutionpartypa.com.