Summary
reversing this Court's opinion only “to the extent that it ordered that the signatures unaccompanied by a designation of the year of signing must be stricken from the nomination papers”
Summary of this case from In re Nomination Petition of VodvarkaOpinion
2012-10-10
In re Nomination Papers of Margaret K. ROBERTSON for President of the United States, Erik Viker for Vice President of The United States, Rayburn Douglas Smith for United States Senator of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Marakay Rogers for Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Betsy Summers for Auditor General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Betsy Summers for Auditor General of Pennsylvania, as Candidates of the Libertarian Party in the General Election of November 6, 2012. Appeal of Judith Guise, Damon Kegerise, Anne Layng, Libertarian Party, Roy Minet, Margaret K. Robertson, Marakay Rogers, Rayburn Douglas Smith, Betsy Summers, Erik Viker.
No. 43 EAP 2012, Appeal from the Order entered on 9/13/12 in the Commonwealth Court at No. 507 MD 2012. Shauna Christine Clemmer, PA Department of State, for Bureau of Elections, Department of State. Ronal Lee Hicks, Jr., Lawrence M. Otter, Victor Paul Stabile, Dilworth Paxson, L.L.P., for Damon Kegerise, Anne Layng, Judith Guise.
No. 43 EAP 2012, Appeal from the Order entered on 9/13/12 in the Commonwealth Court at No. 507 MD 2012.
Shauna Christine Clemmer, PA Department of State, for Bureau of Elections, Department of State. Ronal Lee Hicks, Jr., Lawrence M. Otter, Victor Paul Stabile, Dilworth Paxson, L.L.P., for Damon Kegerise, Anne Layng, Judith Guise.
Paul Anthony Rossi, for Marakay Rogers, Libertarian Party, Roy Minet, Margaret K. Robertson, Erik Viker, Raybun Douglas Smith, Betsy Summers.
ORDER
PER CURIAM.
AND NOW, this 10th day of October, 2012, the Order of the Commonwealth Court is REVERSED, to the extent that it ordered that the signatures unaccompanied by a designation of the year of signing must be stricken from the nomination papers. For the reasons set forth in the dissenting opinion of Senior Judge Colins, such omissions in the context of this particular case do not constitute material defects warranting the removal of the signatures. Moreover, the interspersal of the challenged signatures among others dated in 2012 supports a common sense deduction that the challenged signatures also occurred in that year and negates any concern that the omissions “call into question the identity of the signatory or compromise the integrity of the election process.” In re Nomination Petition of Gales, –––Pa. ––––, 54 A.3d 855, 859 (2012).
Further, consistent with the Commonwealth Court's explanation in its Supplemental Opinion of September 28, 2012, the reversal of its order pertaining to these 1,424 signatures will result in the dismissal of the objections to the nomination papers. Accordingly, we need not address the merits of the additional issue raised on appeal to resolve the matter in a timely fashion.
The case is remanded for further proceedings. Jurisdiction is relinquished.