A victory for common sense
Washington County Judge Damon Faldowski has ruled on the side of common sense in allowing Robert Sabot to be on the November ballot as a Republican candidate for North Franklin Township supervisor.
To recap: Both Sabot and Martha Ward filed as Democratic candidates in the May primary, while simultaneously waging write-in campaigns for the Republican nod, where no candidate filed. Ward triumphed on the Democratic side, while Sabot received 106 GOP write-in votes to Ward’s 68.
But here’s the rub: The county’s canvass board incorrectly recorded the votes, placing in a ledger that Ward received a winning tally of 108 votes.
Faldowski stated, “The Republican voters of North Franklin Township have exercised their right to vote in the May 2017 primary election, and in doing so have nominated Mr. Sabot as the party’s nominee for the position of township supervisor.”
The whole fiasco underscores the antiquated, haphazard election system we have in Pennsylvania. Faldowski noted his surprise upon finding out that it was up to candidates to find out when vote totals are certified, and the “current practice does not appear to provide the candidates with appropriate notice so that they may exercise their rights as permitted under the Election Code.”
There’s got to be a better way.