I couldn't tell from either our or the state's posted instructions whether the sides are supposed to be of the same, or opposite orientation (book style, or "flip-top" style).  The past few years, they've been the latter.

Anyone?

And, does the state care, one way or the other?

--Harold Kyriazi

Howdy all!  I joined the board specifically to answer questions about this process.  One thing I'd love to know is how far away you have to stay away from the polls when petitioning at Tuesday's primary voting locations.

Here's the text of an email I just wrote which should be going to the Pennsylvania portion of the national party's email list to encourage folks to petition on Tuesday April 22nd.  Please feel free to forward it far and wide.  Thanks! ....

Primary Day in Pennsylvania is fast approaching.  With your help, it can be a day we can take a major step forward as a party – not so much because of who is on the primary ballot, but because of who we can put on the ballot in November.

We need as many Pennsylvania residents as possible to go to the polls this Tuesday, April 22nd, to petition for our candidates to get on the general election ballot.  Please take as much time as you can on Tuesday, grab a clipboard and some pens and ask these voters to help us give them a Libertarian choice in Pennsylvania in November!

You can download the nomination papers and find all the information you need to fill them out at http://www.lppa.org/2008_Nomination_Papers.html.  (“Nomination papers” is the official state term for petitions in Pennsylvania.)  That petition will not only place our Presidential ticket on the ballot, it also includes your Libertarian candidates for Attorney General, Auditor General and State Treasurer.

There’s no better place to find registered voters who are in the mood to sign your petition than a polling place on election day!  Every signature you can collect as a volunteer does accomplishes much more than simply helping Libertarian candidates get on the general election ballot.  We need to collect 24,666 valid signatures from Pennsylvania registered voters to succeed.  That’s a tall order which requires the help of professional petitioners who have to be paid.  Every signature you get as a volunteer saves the party up to $2 each, which can be used to finish the petitioning efforts in Pennsylvania and all across the country.

Please go to http://www.lppa.org/2008_Nomination_Papers.html today and follow the instructions to download and print the petition.  Feel free to contact me directly by email at sean.haugh@lp.org or by phone at 202-288-9853 if you have any questions.  I’m also happy to help you find a notary and someone with the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania to whom you can turn in the signatures you collect.

There will be many more opportunities for you to circulate the nomination papers up until we have to complete the drive in late July.  But there’s no better chance to get valid signatures than at the polls on Tuesday.  Every single signature helps!  With your efforts, we’ll be able to get back on the ballot in Pennsylvania and give everyone a Libertarian alternative in November.  Thanks!

yours in liberty –
Sean Haugh
Political Director

We can actually start working on gathering signatures already?  And we have thru August 1st to turn in the papers, correct? 

Do we have a longer period since this is a presidential election year?  I collected signatures in '03 to be Inspector of Elections (I won with like 13 votes), but we had only 6 weeks to do the petitions.

Thanks from Luzerne County!

Well, I was an Inspector of Elections for Wilkes Barre 1-1, but not only did I move, but Luzerne County also did a major consolidation of the precincts and went from about 350 down to 189.  I am planning on getting the 3rd party packet for Inspector next year for my current precinct, Hanover Twp, Ward 7.

Also, even tho I did switch my registration to Republican so I could vote for Dr. No (RP) in the primary, I sent in a new registration to go back to Libertarian today.

Brain,

Thanks for asking.  We need to continue collecting signatures under Rochelle and Chuck Boust names.  Once we get enough to qualify them on the ballot, we'll submit the nominations papers in their names.  Then they will withdraw and we'll substitute their names with the actual candidates.  I know it sounds weird, but that is the way we have to do it in Pa.

Thanks

David Jahn

I think the only qualifications to being a valid signature is that the person is over 18, a resident of the county listed at the top of the nomination form, they sign the same name listed with the county elections bureau (using middle initial, Jr/Sr, etc) and have the correct address, again as listed with the elections bureau (no abbreviations).  We don't want the signatures challenged like Nader was in 2004, right?   

When I filed for Inspector of Elections for my precinct in 2005, I was telling everyone to spell out "Wilkes Barre" and not use the standard local abbreviation of "W-B", since these could be challenged and thrown out.  I used the voter registration files from Luzerne County (bought it on a CD for like $4) as my guide to who was registered at what houses, and to make sure their signature was correct.

With a Libertarian Candidate listed for the U.S. House 3rd District,  Randall Forester,  but there is no place where I see the address information to fill in the right side of the petition.  What do we do with the address block for Randall or the other "fill in the blank" candidates???