Are there some election shenanigans going on in Pennsylvania? <\/p>\n
Sure seems that way.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) sent out a press release<\/a> saying it has learned that there are candidates petitioning to appear on the November general election ballot using the Green Party affiliation.<\/p>\n The issue \u2013 the GPPA has not endorsed them.<\/p>\n The announcement also shared several concerning issues by those listed as the committee to fill vacancies or those circulating the petitions for these individuals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is apparent that an effort to achieve ballot access in an un-transparent manner is underway and that some unendorsed candidates have chosen to appear as representing the Green Party. The GPPA is warning the electorate of the commonwealth and is disclosing this information it has discovered. We affirm our values including a people powered democracy which is free of dark money influence.\u201d<\/p>\n The closely-watched PA-07 race has added a new candidate, as Bethlehem Township resident Andrew Tupone has submitted his nomination papers to the Pennsylvania Department of State to appear on the ballot as a representative of the Green Party.<\/p>\n However, Theron Gilliland Jr., who is the Allegheny County \u201cGreenWave Team Leader\u201d<\/a> charged with identifying, recruiting and supporting candidates, said in a social media post<\/a> that Tupone is not a member of the party.<\/p>\n \u201cAndrew Tupone is NOT endorsed by the GPPA, NOT being paid by GPPA, his campaign is NOT being organized by anyone in GPPA, etc.,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPennsylvania state law does not allow the Green Party to control who calls themselves a Green when running for office, so you get Republican operatives like Andrew Tupone taking advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Is Tupone a Republican operative? Perhaps not an operative, but Tupone ran for the office of magisterial district judge as a Republican and according to voter records, was a registered member of the GOP and voted in primaries since at least 2008. He finished second in the GOP primary in that 2015 contest to the late Patricia Broscius.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania law requires third-party candidates for the U.S. House in PA-07 to secure 2% of the largest vote cast in the district<\/a> for any officer elected at the last preceding election. For 2026, that requirement is 4,074 signatures.<\/p>\n Tupone has turned over at least that many signatures in his quest to appear on the November 3 ballot, despite GPPA opposition. Although, according to a report in Punchbowl News<\/a>, residents reported being solicited by people collecting signatures for Tupone who said they were paid to do so. One petitioner said he was making $30 an hour but wouldn\u2019t say who was paying him, according to a person who spoke to him.<\/p>\n That often brings more scrutiny to the petitions, which will be gone through with a fine-toothed comb for any discrepancies that would disqualify the signature.<\/p>\n Why does the possible entry of a third-party candidate in the PA-07 race cause such angst? One does not have to look deep into Pennsylvania history to see the difference another option on the ballot can have on the outcome.<\/p>\n In the 2024 U.S. Senate contest, Dave McCormick bested incumbent Bob Casey by a little more than 15,000 votes. All three third-party candidates exceeded that margin total and combined for nearly 180,000 votes. Green Party candidate Leila Hazou picked up 66,388 votes. If two-thirds of those votes are cast for Casey, he is back in Washington.<\/p>\n Another example occurred in the 2016 presidential election, when Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 0.82% of the vote or 49,941 votes in all. Donald Trump earned his first term in the White House that year by just 0.73% or 44,000 votes.<\/p>\n