Federal judge rules Pennsylvania law unfair to third parties

Independent Political Report - The Philadelphia Inquirer reports US District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel ruled Friday “that Pennsylvania unfairly treats its third-party political candidates, likely clearing the way for their return to the ballot after nearly disappearing during the last few election cycles.”

In his opinion, Stengel “wrote that the ‘ability of minor parties to organize and voice their views has been decimated’ by portions of the state’s election code,” specifically taking issue with the rule “that third-party candidates often must gather 10 times the number of signatures required of Republicans or Democrats — and then pay costly legal fees if their petitions are challenged — as they almost always are.”

However, the ruling “did not go as far” as the plaintiffs — “the left-leaning Green Party, the Libertarian Party and the conservative-leaning Constitution Party” — wanted, since Stengel ruled that the election law “is constitutional, just not in the way it’s been applied to the minor parties.”