Friday, March 09, 2007

Well, that's pretty much schadenfreude for ya

Bob Brady makes an error in his financial statement submitted Tuesday with his ballot petitions. There's plenty of precedent for just this kind of mistake leading to a candidate's being scrubbed from the ballot, and Brady's supporters have in the past expressed scorn for them on the way out the door:
If someone cannot get enough electors to sign their petition, or fill out a petition and financial disclosure form correctly, are they really capable of passing laws or governing[?] A correct petition is the minimum that is required. It is pretty hard to screw up if you take the time. -- Lou Agre
Will Brady join the numbers of those candidates cut off at the start (radically changing the mayoral field), get special treatment from the Powers that Be, and/or become a sudden convert to the movement to end "gotcha" challenges? (Note that one of his opponents would have to bring a court challenge, which in itself would be a loaded role to play.)

Edit: Nope, anybody can do it. I expect we'll see a challenge via somebody's supporter.

1 Comments:

Blogger thomas said...

Note that one of his opponents would have to bring a court challenge, which in itself would be a loaded role to play.

Not so. See Seventy's site on this topic, with appropriate citations of state law:

A candidate or any registered voter in the district, regardless of party affiliation, has until seven days after the filing date to submit objections to another candidate's petition or paper. Any registered voter who resides in the particular district in which the candidate is running, regardless of his or her party affiliation, may file objections. Additionally, candidates may file objections against their opponents, enabling candidates to challenge their opponents before the election occurs.

Indeed, one typical MO is for a candidate, having done the counting and research on an opponent's filing, to have a seemingly unaffiliated voter actually file the challenge, and then claim that they are not behind the challenge, that this is one of their supporters, yes, but he or she is acting out of their own civic duty.

2:47 PM  

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