Long Awaited Decision Rekindles Ballot Access Case

“No Party” Party of Pennsylvania

“We’re not Just a Party, We’re a Movement.”

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEOctober  29, 2009

For more information, please contact Dennis Baylor:dennisjbaylor@gmail.com or 610-781-8746.

LONG AWAITED DECISION REKINDLES BALLOT ACCESS CASE

HARRISBURG, PA:  In early February the PA Supreme Court received an appeal from former state Senate candidate Dennis Baylor asking for review of certain third-party ballot access qualifications, citing that conflicting standards in the state’s current Election Code had significantly hindered his ability to campaign.  Nearly nine months passed when the Court submitted its Oct. 22 decision to deny review of the case because the original appeal has become moot – it pertained to his candidacy for the special election that ended in March.  The decision against him, while too late to aid his bid for the state Senate, also delivered an encouraging statement from Mr. Justice Eakin, who felt that Mr. Baylor raised several viable claims that should be reviewed for the benefit of future candidates.

 

To that end, Mr. Baylor filed a petition for reconsideration yesterday with the Supreme Court in hopes of setting a precedent for third-party candidates’ ballot access.  The foundation of his argument with two sections of the Election Code contends that the number of votes necessary to gain minor party status is excessive and ill-defined, and may unconstitutionally deny ballot access.   Justice Eakin supported this and other issues that Mr. Baylor addresses in his petition, including the strict time restraints to gather sufficient support for ballot access during special elections and redundancy in gathering signatures for such elections after garnering the required support during the normal election. 

He is now waiting again for a decision to hear his case.  It has been over a year since Mr. Baylor began his campaign for the Senate seat in 2008; his goals were to reform ballot access requirements and lower Legislative spending.  Though he was not elected, he is still working to renovate PA’s election system through petitioning the Supreme Court.

Justice Eakin’s Full Opinion

—END—

 

“No Party” Party of Pennsylvania Candidate

An Alternate Choice to Career Politicians

Dennis Baylor, write-in candidate

Special Election for Pennsylvania State Senator 29th District:  Tuesday, March 3, 2009

How to Vote for Dennis Baylor — Write-In Voting

Within the six counties that make up the 29^th state Senate district, three types of voting machines are used.  Click on the county in which you reside from the list below to see how you can write in your vote for Dennis Baylor.

 

Berks                    Carbon

 

Lehigh                  Monroe 

 

Nothampton        Schuylkill 

 

 

Why Write-In Your Vote?

Dennis Baylor has been campaigning for the state Senate seat for over a year.  On February 13, 2008, he began collecting the necessary 1,355 signatures to appear on the general election ballot as a minority party candidate.  In November, he garnered over 2,000 votes for the position; incumbent Senator Jim Rhoades won posthumously, forcing a special election. 

 

Mr. Baylor’s votes as a “No Party” Party candidate met the qualifications for minor party status, but only briefly, as the Dept. of State withdrew its recognition after re-interpreting state election law.  He has since filed petition for review of the ballot access denial in both Commonwealth and state Supreme Courts – twice – to no avail.  Consequently Mr. Baylor’s name will not be allowed on the ballot in March, despite his ample community support.  Wrtie-in votes are now vital to the success of our ”Help Stop America’s Most Extravagant Legislature” campaign!      

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History of Dennis Baylor’s Campaign

 

Dennis Baylor announced his candidacy to the press in early February, 2008.  As a non-majority party candidate, his campaign has been based on ballot access reform to enable a more fair election process by providing voters with real choices for representation in our state government.  Mr. Baylor’s fight to put the power of choice back into the hands of voters, rather than with those who seek to promote their own personal interests, has met with many obstacles - most notably the denial of ballot access and inadequate time limits.  

 

Listed below are local newspaper articles that chronicle Mr. Baylor’s year-long campaign.  To read each article, simply click its corresponding link, and then “Go Back” when finished.

 

News Articles from Dennis Baylor’s Campaign

 

Meet the Candidate, 2/8/08

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=79468

 

Candidate for Senate vows to clean House, 2/8/08

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=79469

 

Baylor eyes Senate seat, 2/25/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/02/25/import/19328306.txt

 

County Democrats endorse candidates, 3/11/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/03/11/import/19378906.txt

 

State is biased, Senate hopeful from Tilden says, 6/5/08

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=94338

 

Tilden man challenges Pa. election code rules, 8/12/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/08/12/news/local_news/pr_republican.20080812.a.pg3.pr12baylor_s1.1871363_loc.txt

 

“Oversight” excludes candidate, 10/8/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/08/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081008.a.pg3.pr08baylor_s1.1998324_loc.txt

 

Baylor 86’ed from Forum, 10/8/08

http://www.berksmontnews.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Weekly;jsessionid=XLT2Ls3K99lphybn9Zdtjvq4MBM0JlwwhynWp5Q3vTdq7Ln49Fy1!-505740741?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_wk_article&r21.content=/BMN/_RSSFeed/News/TopStoryList_Story_2497550&r21.pgpath=/BMN/News/Top%20Stories

 

Schuylkill chamber hosts “debate” minus incumbents, 10/9/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/09/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081009.a.pg11.pr09chamber_s1.2001349_loc.txt

 

Rhoades likely to remain on ballot; special election could be held soon after. 10/19/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/19/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081019.a.pg1.pr19rhoadeselection_s1.2026034_top3.txt

 

Rhoades’ chief of staff: Campaign should go on, 10/20/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/20/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081020.a.pg1.pr20rhoadesupdate_s1.2027004_top3.txt

 

Baylor criticizes Pa. spending, tax system, 10/31/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/31/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081031.a.pg1.pr31baylor_s1.2034301_top4.txt

 

Special vote will be held after Rhoades’ re-election, 11/5/08 (?)

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=112605

 

Letter calls for Argall to “repay” money, 12/5/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/12/05/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081205.a.pg1.pr05argall_s1.2138732_top3.txt

 

Baylor forms No-Party Party, 12/5/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/12/05/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081205.a.pg3.pr05baylor_s1.2138442_loc.txt

 

No access for No-Party candidate on ballot, 12/11/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/12/11/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081211.a.pg3.pr11baylor_s1.2152874_loc.txt

 

Baylor files suit in state Supreme Court, 12/17/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/12/17/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081217.a.pg3.pr17baylor_s1.2166979_loc.txt

 

Attorney general opposes election lawsuit, 12/30/08

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/12/30/news/local_news/pr_republican.20081230.a.pg1.pr30baylor_s1.2195888_top4.txt

 

GOP gets more time to respond to Baylor suit, 1/7/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/01/07/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090107.a.pg3.pr07baylor_s1.2210967_loc.txt

 

GOP asks state high court to deny Baylor’s lawsuit, 1/9/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/01/09/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090109.a.pg3.pr09baylor_s1.2216317_loc.txt

 

Pa. high court nixes Baylor suit, 1/13/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/01/13/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090113.a.pg1.pr13baylor_s1.2224304_top.txt

 

Baylor suit dismissed by Commonwealth Court, 1/15/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/01/15/news/breaking_news/doc496fad477bef6684577744.txt

 

Election code suit dismissed on technicality, 1/16/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/01/16/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090116.a.pg1.pr16baylor_s1.2234033_top3.txt

 

Re-filed Baylor suit heard today, 2/4/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090204.a.pg3.pr04baylor_s1.2278964_loc.txt

 

Baylor loses round in court, 2/5/09

http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2009/02/05/news/local_news/pr_republican.20090205.a.pg3.pr05baylor_s1.2281871_loc.txt

 

 

 

 

 

Berks & Monroe Counties

 Danaher 1242 Voting System

1. Press the X in the box marked “Write-In” for state Senator.
2. Press the red blinking button above the ballot.  The black shutter to its right will open revealing a section of paper.
3. Write DENNIS BAYLOR on the paper using pen.
4. Pull the black shutter closed.  The red blinking light will now turn off.
5. Press the green “Vote” button when finished.

 

To see a video guide about using the Danaher 1242 voting machines, or to visit the manufacturer’s website, please follow one of the links to the Dept. of State website below. 

Berks County: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/BerksCountyVotingDemos/tabid/245/language/en-US/Default.aspx 

Monroe County: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/MonroeCountyVotingDemos/tabid/363/language/en-US/Default.aspx. 

 

Carbon, Lehigh & Schuylkill Counties

AccuVote – TSX Voting System

1. Touch the X in the box next to “Write-In” for state Senator.
2. Type DENNIS BAYLOR using the touch-screen keyboard and select “Record Write-In.”  You should now see Dennis Baylor’s name on your voting screen. 
3. Touch “Cast Ballot” on the screen when finished.

To see a video guide about using the AccuVote – TSX voting machines, or to visit the manufacturer’s website, please visit the Dept. of State website by following one of the links below.

 

 

Carbon County: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/CarbonCountyVotingDemos/tabid/252/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Lehigh County: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/LehighCountyVotingDemos/tabid/357/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Schuylkill County: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/SchuylkillCountyVotingDemos/tabid/412/language/en-US/Default.aspx

 

Northampton County

Sequoia Advantage Voting System

1. Press the square next to “Write-In” for state Senator. You should now see a flashing green light next to the square. 
2. Type DENNIS BAYLOR using the keypad below the ballot, then press “Enter” on the keypad.  The flashing green light on the ballot will turn off.
3. Press “Cast Vote” next to the keypad when finished.

To see a video guide about using the Sequoia Advantage voting machines, or to visit the manufacturer’s website, please visit the Dept. of State website by following this link: http://www.votespa.com/HowtoVote/VotingMachineDemo/NorthamptonCountyVotingDemos/tabid/403/language/en-US/Default.aspx.

 

PA State Gov’t: We Pay the Most, We Expect the Best.

“No Party” Party of Pennsylvania state Senate candidate Dennis Baylor has campaigned for over a year to reduce the size of PA’s massive government and wasteful spending.  New records show that PA taxpayers provide the most funding to the largest state government staff in the country, despite the fact that we are only the sixth-largest in size.

Philadelphia Daily News political columnist John Baer reports a number of alarming new statistics regarding our legislature’s pay and staff size, and questions the necessity of its inflated funding while in the midst of ongoing corruption exposure.  To read, “John Baer: Our state lawmakers are tops… when it comes to staff numbers,” from Philadelphia Daily News, please click: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20090218_John_Baer__Our_state_lawmakers_are_tops_____when_it_comes_to_staff_numbers.html

 

Activist Protests PPL 40% Rate Hike

Stilp coming into Saint Clair.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA — Today Gene Stilp, Director of Taxpayers and Ratepayers United Association, walked fourteen miles in protest of the PPL Electric Utilities plan to raise electric rates by 40% for consumers from 29 Pennsylvania counties.  Due to the removal of electric rate caps by the state legislature, 1.4 million ratepayers will be harshly affected by the increase on Jan. 1, 2010.  Mr. Stilp began his protest walks in January this year, and so far he has visited seven counties urging legislators to propose an extension for the rate caps and to hold public meetings to increase consumer awareness. 

This morning Mr. Stilp began his walk in Mahonoy City at Neal Goodman’s office and finished at Tim Seip’s office in Pottsville in the afternoon, all the while carrying a six-foot, 20-pound electric plug with a sign reading “Pull the Plug on PPL’s 40% Rate Hike.”  Mr. Stilp plans to walk in each of the 29 affected counties in his campaign against the rate hike. 

For more information, please visit www.pulltheplugonppl.com.

 

Commonwealth Judge Dismisses Petition and Allegation.

HARRISBURG, PA — Today Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini addressed two issues — minor party ballot access and a criminal allegation against Dennis Baylor — and dismissed them both.  Since  Mr. Baylor, who is seeking minor party recognition for the “No Party” Party of Pennsylvania from the Dept. of State, represented himself in a previous hearing, the Attorney General’s office accused him of the “unauthorized practice of law.”  Today Mr. Baylor argued that though he and others had applied to become registered “No Party” Party (NPP) voters, all parties received registration cards listing them as “No Affiliation” voters.  The judge dismissed the allegation due to this error in the voter registration system on the grounds that there are no existing NPP voters for Mr. Baylor to represent in order to engage in the “unauthorized practice of law.” 

Judge Pellegrini then dismissed Mr. Baylor’s petition for review to qualify the “No Party” Party of PA as a minor party because he does not have “representational standing,” as he is not a member of the party himself.   The judge complimented Mr. Baylor on his efforts for ballot access and said, “The more people who participate in the democratic process, the better it is.”

Just before today’s Commonwealth Court hearing at 3 p.m., Mr. Baylor filed his brief for minor party ballot access in the state Supreme Court, where it was granted jurisdiction late last month.

 

“Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Decide if Party Should be on Ballot in Special State Senate Election”

Edited by Richard Winger

February 2nd, 2009

On January 29, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear Baylor v Cortes, over whether the “No Party Party” should be on the ballot in the special State Senate election in the 29th district, to be held March 3. The case is Baylor v Cortes, 3 MAP 2009.

Pennsylvania is one of the states in which it is possible for a party to be ballot-qualified in just part of the state. Although being a “qualified party” doesn’t yield many benefits in normal elections, the benefits of being “qualified” are valuable in the case of special elections. All “qualified parties” are on the ballot automatically in special elections. By contrast, in regular elections, only parties with membership of 15% of the state are automatically on.

The “No Party Party” polled 2.2% of the vote in the State Senate election, 29th district, in November 2008. The definition of a party in just part of the state requires that it poll 5% of the winning candidate’s vote. Although the No Party Party didn’t meet that standard in the entire district, it did meet it in two counties in the district, Lehigh and Northampton. Therefore, the No Party Party argues that it should be treated as a qualified party for the entire district. The No Party Party is the creation of Dennis Baylor, the party’s only candidate in 2008. Baylor is representing himself pro se. The lower court had refused to adjudicate this case because of a technical error in his brief.

To see the original article as published by “Ballot Access News,” please click here: http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/02/02/pennsylvania-supreme-court-to-decide-if-party-should-be-on-ballot-in-special-state-senate-election/.

 

State Supreme Court to Hear Ballot Access Case

February 2, 2009: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

HARRISBURG, PA – The state Supreme Court issued an order of ”probable jurisdiction” for “No Party” Party of Pennsylvania candidate Dennis Baylor’s ballot access lawsuit on Thursday.  Earlier this month it denied jurisdiction over Mr. Baylor’s petition to have the NPPP recognized as a minor party, but it has now accepted the case since its dismissal from Commonwealth Court due to a technicality.  In the upcoming hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, the Supreme Court will rule on the procedure for qualifying minor parties in PA.  If his petition is awarded by the Supreme Court, Mr. Baylor’s name will be placed on the special election ballot as a minor-party candidate for the 29th district state senate seat. 

Mr. Baylor said that the court will be working on an accelerated briefing schedule, which requires that the briefs be submitted in Harrisburg by Wednesday, Feb. 4th at 3 p.m.

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