Making the decision to run a buy-in campaign in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is simple.
Winning one is tough.
Just ask your Hershey eye doctor Anju SinghBethel Park Piotr Kohnke or Wilkes-Barre Dino Disler.
The trio each reached the 300 saved vote threshold to qualify for the November ballot in their respective races.
Singh received 441 votes recorded on the blank Democratic ballot to win the nomination in the 106th Legislative District. She will face it Representative Thomas Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) in the fall.
Kohnke received 534 votes in Allegheny County and 326 votes from Washington County voters, giving him nearly three times the number needed to qualify for the Nov. 5 general election. He will undertake it Representative. Natalia Michałek (R-Allegheny/Washington) in the 40th District.
Disler amassed 651 entries on no-candidate ballots to win the GOP nomination alongside the Democratic incumbent Eddie Day Paszynski (D-Luzerne) in the 121st District.
The challenge for both successful candidates and many who fail to reach the 300 plateau is simply getting the name right.
Pennsylvania Election Code (25 P.S. § 3155) requires boards of elections to count and certify votes exactly as the names appear on the ballot. Additionally, the Board of Elections must certify votes cast on ballots exactly as names appear on the ballot and cannot group similar names together. For example, for a candidate with a surname John C. Lancastervotes cast for John C. Lancaster, J. Lancaster, J.C. Lancaster and Jon Lancaster will be listed separately on the certificate.
So the votes for “Dino Distler”, “Dino Distler”, “Dino Distler”, “Dino Distler”, “Dino Distler”, “D. Disler”, “Dino Densil”, “Dino Disler”, “John Disler”, “Dave Disler”, “Dino Disher”, “Dino D”, “Dino Desler”, “Dino Disler”. ”, “Dissler”, “Dino Drisler”, “Dinodilsr”, “Ddinno Distler” and “Dino Ditsler” did not count.
Neither “DinoDesler”, “Dino Disoris”, “Dino Dirsir”, “Dino Dister” or “Dino-Disler”.
That’s all 43 added votes that appeared to be intended for Disler which were prohibited. That’s 14.3 percent of the total 300 needed.
Only “Dino Disler” matters. Fortunately for the 65-year-old, the 651 that counted far exceeded the required number.
In the case of Singh, a naturalized Indian citizen, her re-election campaign began after a successful contest between two other Democrats in the House district, who disqualified enough signatures on her nomination petitions to force her to withdraw from the primary.
She told PennLive that she had almost decided to end the campaign at that moment, before her “doctor brain” kicked in.
“No matter what you do, the likelihood of you saving this patient is really low. What are you going to do? Not even try? As a doctor, you can’t throw in the towel. Even if there is only a 1% chance of saving the patient. Try it.
And not only did she exceed the 300-vote threshold, but she was also the most vote-getter among Democrats to qualify for the November general election.
Election officials often record every vote cast, especially if the total number of entries exceeds the leading number. This is a time-consuming task that sometimes causes chuckles when recording overdubs.
Disler actually defeated such luminaries as the former president Donald Trumpdied in Pennsylvania Rep. Thaddeus Stevenshopeful US Senate Dave McCormickcandidate for Attorney General of Pennsylvania Dave’s Sundayand a fictitious software salesperson Al Bundy.
Other races in Luzerne County included entries for midfielder Gumby TightTelevision personality Kelsey Grammerpresidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.and cartoon hero Fred Flintt Stone.
