State Dems seeking to knock former state Rep. DeWeese off the ballot
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State Dems seeking to knock former state Rep. DeWeese off the ballot
Jailed former state Rep. Bill DeWeese is still on the ballot in the southwestern Pennsylvania district he once called home - but perhaps not for much longer.
The state Democratic Party filed a lawsuit today to remove DeWeese's name from the 2012 ballot so the party can replace him in time for the Nov. 6 election.
“If a substitution is prohibited,” the lawsuit says, “the plaintiffs and all voters in the 50th House district will be deprived of a viable Democratic candidate on that ballot, one who could serve as a member of the General Assembly.”
Here is what the Associated Press reports:
The party filed the lawsuit in Commonwealth Court, naming DeWeese and Secretary of State Carol Aichele as defendants.
DeWeese is serving a 2 1/2-to-five-year prison term after being convicted of corruption — a fact that bars him from serving in the legislature ever again. Yet he remains on the
ballot as the Democratic nominee former southwestern Pennsylvania district.
The state party and three registered voters from the district are seeking a court order that will knock DeWeese off the ballot in time for a new nominee to be picked. That
deadline for naming a new candidate is Aug. 23, just weeks away.
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