Do you love Philadelphia? Us too. Let’s be friends. Sign up for Billy Penn’s newsletter today.
A judge handed a partial victory to a West Philadelphia lawyer who sued the city over an election law change, but the dispute remains far from resolved.
Four Republicans who ran for their local district committees in the May primary are winners of their elections even though they received just two write-in votes, Common Pleas Court Judge Jessica Brown said in an order issued last week.
Earlier this year, city commissioners, who make up the Philadelphia Board of Elections, voted to prevent candidates who received fewer than 10 votes from winning. Brown, however, agreed with Republican election attorney Matt Wolf that the commissioners did not follow the correct provisions of state election law.
There are so few Republicans in many Philadelphia precincts that it is virtually impossible for candidates to get on the ballot or receive 10 write-in votes. In much of the city, Republican committees no longer exist due to lack of members, and allowing candidates to win by just one or two votes is vital to keeping the party alive and relevant, Wolfe argued.
He said that in the primary election, only 302 Republican committee members were elected out of 3,406 available positions.
“I’m very pleased that the judge sees the election code the way I see it. It’s a victory for the commission members and the voters who voted for them,” Wolfe said.
But Brown ordered commissioners to certify only the four candidates who filed the lawsuit, not the many others — potentially hundreds, both Democrats and Republicans — who ran written campaigns at the county commission and won by fewer than 10 votes.
This means it is unclear how the ordinance will affect other candidates and how it will apply in future elections. Wolfe said the write-in voting requirement has been litigated multiple times over the years, and the judge’s decision could result in more legal challenges.
“We’ll see if anyone files an appeal and what impact it will have on the execution of the order,” he said. “It could be argued that if other members of the committee are disqualified, this ruling may give them some options in the court proceedings.”
The deadline to appeal against this decision is next Friday.
Lisa Deeley, vice chairwoman of the city commission, declined to answer questions about the court’s order, as did the city’s legal department. A lawyer for the Republican City Commission declined to comment, and a lawyer for the Democrats did not respond to an email.
The rules vary depending on the election
When it comes to registration requirements, attorneys and judges point to two different sections of state law. The section cited by Wolfe and Brown states that party officials, such as precinct members, win their races by receiving “a plurality of votes… in the primary” – that is, with the most votes, even if it is only one write-in vote.
However, other justices waived another part of the law that states that a candidate cannot be declared the winner “unless the total number of votes cast for that person is equal to or greater than the number of signatures required on a nominating petition for the office in question.” In the case of seats in district committees, this means 10 signatures.
That’s the stance taken last week by a judge in Greene County, in the southwestern part of the state bordering West Virginia. Common Pleas Judge Christopher Simms said the petition-signing rule applies to Republican county committee elections and invalidates the victories of 33 registered candidates.
However, Simms still allowed some candidates a place to sit.
He noted that the Greene County Board of Elections did not consistently follow the 10-vote rulerequiring it in 2022 but not in 2018, and agreed to a consent provision between the county Republican committee and the contested write-in candidates. This allows them to go individually to the committee, where “they will have the right to seek nomination.”
Wolfe initially sued over the rule change and won, but the city and the Philadelphia Republican Party appealed and a Commonwealth Court judge ruled against him, saying the case was premature.
Applying the law to protect officials
While precinct committee and county party races are confusing to many voters, Wolfe and others say they are significant because of the key role committees play in elections.
Committee members vote to endorse candidates for City Council, judge and other positions, then hand out endorsement lists to voters, which often determine victory, especially in low-turnout races.
They also elect district leaders, who form Republican and Democratic city committees, which elect party leaders – currently Democratic Chairman Bob Brady and Republican Chairman Vince Fenerty.
Leaders sometimes seek to enforce the 10-vote rule in an attempt to exclude dissident party members from committee positions or protect officials. For example, in 2018, the Philadelphia Republican Party joined a lawsuit over write-in results after two incumbent GOP district leaders lost re-election bids due to votes cast by write-in committee members.
Wolfe frequently criticizes Fenerty’s leadership and maintains that he insisted on enforcing the 10-vote rule to protect his control of the party. Fenerty has declined to comment on this claim in the past.
Wolfe declined to say whether he would appeal Brown’s decision himself, but said he would continue efforts to change the way the local Republican Party operates.
“If this decision stands, I intend to use it to file a lawsuit against the city commission,” he said. “The fact that the Republican City Committee continues to oppose hiring new people should be astonishing to anyone who cares about the city of Philadelphia.”
