ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A local candidate’s bid for the state Senate is facing a legal hurdle after a petition was filed in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth court to remove her from the ballot.
The petition challenges the nominating petitions of Taiba Sultana, who is running for Senator in the 18th Senate District.
The petition alleges that Sultana’s nominating petitions have multiple defects, including defects in her stated source of income, her stated profession on her petitions and SOFI, as well as 417 individual ineligible signatures, according to a news release.
If the 417 signatures are invalid, that would put her under the 500 minimum number of signatures required, the news release details.
In 2024, Sen. Lisa Boscola said that Taiba Sultana, submitted a nomination petition with Boscola’s forged signature on it.
“I am glad four local democratic women stepped up to hold her accountable for breaking the rules this time,” stated Raymond G. Lahoud, who is representing the challengers. “It should have happened when she handed in petitions with Senator Boscola’s forged signature last time. Just last month, a campaign manager was charged with a crime for submitting nominating petitions with fraudulent signatures. Voters have a right to expect the candidates on their ballot appear there legally and ethically.”
If the challenges are found to be valid by a judge, Sultana could be disqualified from the May 19 primary election.
In a written statement, Sultana said that she will not be commenting of the specific allegations in the filing until she has consulted with her legal team.
“Our campaign will fight this challenge in court, and we are confident that we will remain on the ballot,” Sultana also said in the statement.