Amanda Cappelletti’s Challenge to Elvira Berry’s Petition Is Upheld
Seven weeks ago, seven Democrats were still trying to be the one to remove Daylin Leach from his 17th District Senate Seat. But among those seven, only Amanda Cappelletti’s name will appear on the ballot (April 28) in opposition to Leach.
This morning, Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon, a former Delaware County Council member (Republican), affirmed the petition by Amanda Cappelletti’s supporters to remove Elvira Berry’s name from the ballot.
Berry and her attorney, Vance Shohin (Kleinberg, LLC.), didn’t go down without a fight. On Wednesday (3/4/2020), Shohin engaged in a 3.5-hour forensic battle with Team
Cappelletti’s lawyer, Tim Ford (Dilworth Paxon, LLP).
Shohin repeatedly argued that the intent of the voters whose signatures Ford claimed were invalid was to enable Berry’s name to appear on the ballot. On one occasion, Shohin referred to some of the issues with the contested signatures as “ministerial mistakes.”
Ford argued that the law says, that in order for a candidate’s name to appear on the ballot for the state senate in Pennsylvania, that candidate must have 500 valid signatures. And, he argued, the law is explicit as to what is and what is not a valid signature. Ford reminded Judge Cannon, more than one time, that the court could only rule on whether a signature is valid or not. The intent of the person who signed the petition, Ford maintained, was for the most part irrelevant.
Apparently Judge Cannon listened to Ford’s “advice.”
Ford had this to say about the decision, “This case underscores the importance of gathering more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Even the best petition circulator will gather some ineligible or invalid signatures. The rules apply to everyone, and everyone needs to play by the same rules.“
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