Opinion ID: 2682366
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pennsylvania’s Electoral Scheme

Text: Pennsylvania’s election code distinguishes between “political parties” and “political bodies.” 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2831. An organization qualifies as a “political party” if one of its candidates polled at least two percent of the largest entire vote cast in each of at least ten counties and “polled a total vote in the State equal to at least two per centum of the largest entire vote cast in the State for any elected candidate.” Id. § 2831(a). Political parties may in turn be categorized as either major or minor parties, depending on their statewide voter registration. Id. §2872.2(a); Rogers v. Corbett, 468 F.3d 188, 190-91 (3d Cir. 2006). Major parties are defined by exclusion as those that are not minor political parties under the election code, and minor parties are defined as those whose statewide registration is less than fifteen percent of the total statewide registration for all political parties. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2872.2(a). At present, there are only two major parties in Pennsylvania, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, as has been the case since the election code was enacted more than three-quarters of a century ago. “Political bodies” are organizations that did not have a candidate who crossed the two-percent threshold in the last election, and so they do not qualify for the benefits of being a minor party, let alone a major one. Id. § 2831(a). Accordingly, we will direct that, on remand, all claims against the Attorney General be dismissed. 5 One of the most basic goals of a political organization, and the one for which the Aspiring Parties are contending in this case, is to have its candidates listed on the general election ballot. Major parties get to place their candidates on the general election ballot through a publicly-funded primary process.4 See id. § 2862. Minor parties and political bodies (which we will sometimes refer to together as “non-major parties”) have to go through a signature-gathering campaign to have their nominees appear on the general election ballot, but minor parties are at least able to access benefits under the election code “with respect to special elections, voter registration forms, [and] substituted nominations,” id. § 2872.2. Ultimately, the distinction between minor parties and political bodies is of less consequence in this case than is the distinction between major parties and non-major parties, since all non-major parties face essentially the same fight to get their candidates on the ballot through the submission of nominating papers. It is the rules governing that process that are the focus of the Aspiring Parties’ Complaint. 4 To appear on the primary ballot, candidates from major parties must submit a certain number of valid signatures depending on the office sought. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2872.1. The largest number of signatures required for primary ballot access is 2,000 for candidates seeking offices such as President of the United States and Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Id. The winner of the primary election automatically appears on the general election ballot as the candidate of his or her respective major party. Id. § 2882. 6 To appear on the general election ballot, minor parties and political bodies are required to file nomination papers with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.5 See id. §§ 2872.2 (“Nominations by minor political parties”), 2911 (“Nominations by political bodies”); Rogers, 468 F.3d at 191. Successful nomination papers for a statewide office must include valid signatures equal to two percent of the vote total of the candidate with the highest number of votes for any state-wide office in the previous election. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2911(b).6 After being filed, the nomination papers are 5 Although the Aspiring Parties refer to “nominating petitions,” we will use the statutory term “nomination papers” found in § 2911. Under the election code, major party candidates file “nomination petitions” to appear on the primary ballot. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2872.1. However, candidates of minor political parties and political bodies file “nomination papers” to appear on the general election ballot. Id. §§ 2911(b), 2872.2. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, as in certain quotes from the briefings and declarations before us, we will adhere to the statutory distinction as much as possible. 6 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2911(b) provides in relevant part: Where the nomination is for any office to be filled by the electors of the State at large, the number of qualified electors of the State signing such nomination paper shall be at least equal to two per centum of the largest entire vote cast for any elected candidate in the State at large at the last preceding election at which State-wide candidates were voted for. 7 examined by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, who must reject the filing of any submission that “contains material errors or defects apparent on [its] face … or on the face of the appended or accompanying affidavits; or … contains material alterations made after signing without the consent of the signers; or … does not contain a sufficient number of signatures as required by law.” Id. § 2936. Even after being accepted by the Secretary, however, the papers can be subjected to further examination if a private party files an objection.7 In particular, the election code provides in § 2937 that [a]ll nomination petitions and papers received and filed … 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 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2911(b). The non-major party candidates have approximately five months to circulate nomination papers from before the state-run primary to August 1 of the election year. Rogers, 468 F.3d at 191. 7 This process also applies to the nomination petitions filed by major political parties to be placed on the primary ballot. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 2936, 2937. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that despite using the word “petition,” § 2937 applies to both nomination petitions and nomination papers. In re Nader, 905 A.2d 450, 458 (Pa. 2006). 8 the objections thereto, and praying that the said petition or paper be set aside. Id. § 2937. If any objections are filed pursuant to § 2937, the Commonwealth Court reviews and holds a hearing on the objections and determines whether the candidate’s name will be placed on the ballot.8 Id. Of special importance to the 8 Section 2937 provides for the full process by which a nomination petition or nomination paper is challenged: 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 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. 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 9 present dispute is that, when an objection is successful and a nomination petition or paper 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.” Id. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that, under § 2937, “an award of costs … is not warranted solely on the basis that the party prevailed”; there must be some further reason, and it is an abuse of discretion for a lower court to award such costs “without identifying any reason specific to [the] case or … why justice would demand shifting costs to them.” In re Farnese, 17 A.3d 357, 369-70 (Pa. 2011). At the same time, however, the court held that, while “fraud, bad faith, or gross misconduct … may require an award of costs,” “a party’s conduct need not proceed to such an extreme before” costs can be shifted. Id. at 372. Thus, under § 2937, costs may be awarded to the person opposing nomination papers if there is some showing that it would be “just” to do so, despite there 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. 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2937 (footnote omitted). 10 being no “fraud, bad faith, or gross misconduct” on the part of the candidate whose papers were challenged.9 Id. Finally, a political organization may also lose its status as a political party. If it does not meet the two percent threshold, it descends again to the status of political body. See 25 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2831(a). Therefore, if a political party fielded no candidate in a general election or if its candidates received support from less than two percent of the highest vote-getter, it would qualify only as a political body in the following election. Id. Sections 2911 and 2937 became law in 1937. Section 2911 was amended in 1971 to increase the percentage of signatures required, see People’s Party v. Tucker, 347 F. Supp. 1, 2 & n.2 (M.D. Pa. 1972), and § 2937 was, in 2011, the subject of an important interpretive opinion by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, In re Farnese, 17 A.3d at 359. The Aspiring Parties have extensive experience with these statutes, having collected signatures, defended nomination papers, and been placed on and struck from election ballots at various times in the past decade.