Opinion ID: 3012877
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Commonwealth’s Ballot Access Laws

Text: The Pennsylvania ballot access law requires candidates for various public offices to pay a filing fee in order to have their names placed on the general election ballot. Specifically, the law provides: “Each person filing any nomination petition shall pay for each petition, at the time of filing, a filing fee . . . and no nomination petition shall be accepted or filed, unless and until such filing fee is paid . . . .” 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2873(b.1) (emphasis added). The fees range from $5 to $200, depending on the office sought. The law applies equally to all candidates regardless of 1. For ease of reference, the two defendants, Kim Pizzingrilli, Secretary of State, and Richard Filling, Commissioner of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation, both of whom were sued in their official capacity, will be collectively referred to throughout this Opinion as “the Commonwealth.” 4 political affiliation. However, it contains no waiver provisions or other means for an indigent candidate to gain access to the ballot. The Commonwealth concedes that it has received “several inquiries” regarding fee waivers but that it keeps no official record of such inquiries and is unable to state the exact number received. Candidate filing fees for statewide elections are paid when the candidates’ nomination petitions are filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2873(a) & 2873(b.1). The total collected varies by year, averaging approximately $70,000 to $80,000 in even years, and $22,000 to $23,000 in odd years. These funds are used to provide a variety of election-related services, including (1) review of nomination petitions and papers to ensure compliance with applicable requirements, (2) review of documents pertaining to candidate withdrawals and substitutions, (3) creation and distribution of election information for candidates, and (4) consideration of and responses to candidate inquiries. The total cost of such services is estimated to be approximately $46,000 in even years, and $23,000 in odd years. The revenue generated by the filing fees is not, however, expressly earmarked for the funding of these services. It is instead placed into the Commonwealth’s general operating fund. See 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2873(b.1). In addition to paying the required filing fees, candidates must also comply with the statutory signature requirements. Specifically, candidates for statewide office must collect signatures equal to two percent of the largest vote total for any statewide candidate in the last election. 25 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 2911(b). Those seeking other offices must obtain signatures equal to two percent of the largest vote total received by any candidate in their district during the last election. Id. However, these signature requirements are in no way correlated with, or affected by, the applicable filing fee. Thus, although the number of signatures needed to obtain ballot access will naturally vary from one district to another, candidates for positions in the state legislature all pay the same filing fee regardless of the size of their district or the number of signatures required. 5