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PERIOD TO CIRCULATE AND FILE NOMINATION PETITIONS BEGINS TODAY, FEBRUARY 16TH

02/16/2010

PHILADELPHIA – February 16, 2010 – The Committee of Seventy today reminded all Pennsylvanians interested in running for elected office in 2010 that Tuesday, February 16th is the start of the period for circulating nomination petitions. The circulation period ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9th. 

The non-partisan Committee of Seventy is committed to providing information about how to run for elected office in order to make the political process more open and encourage a broader group of candidates. New this year is:  “How to Run for Committee Person: A Campaign Manual for Philadelphia Candidates,” a step-by-step roadmap on how to run for committee person in Philadelphia. Each of Philadelphia’s 1,684 voting divisions, which are contained within the city’s 66 wards, will be electing two Democratic and two Republican committee people in the May 18, 2010 primary to help bring out the vote and provide candidate information within their neighborhoods. 

The Committee of Seventy will be sponsoring two “How to Run for Committee Person” trainings this week. The first, cosponsored with Young Involved Philadelphia (YIP), is on Wednesday, February 17th, at 6:30 p.m., at Black Sheep Pub, 247 S 17th Street, Philadelphia. The second, will be Thursday, February 18th at 6:00 pm  in Center City. RSVP to Leah Pillsbury, 215-557-3600, ext 109 or lpillsbury@seventy.org, for location and event details. Both events are free of charge and open to the public. Citizens interested in running for political office or attending the trainings are encouraged to visit www.seventy.org/howtorun for more information.

In addition to committee people, other offices on the May 18, 2010 primary ballot include Pennsylvania’s Governor, Lieutenant Governor, United States Senator, United States Congress, State Senators and State Representatives in even numbered districts. Across the Commonwealth, Democratic and Republican voters will also elect members of their state political party committees.

Nomination petitions are documents signed by a designated number of registered electors of a candidate’s same political party seeking inclusion of that candidate’s name for the party’s nomination on the primary ballot. Nomination petitions for statewide office are available from the Pennsylvania Department of State and can be downloaded online at www.dos.state.pa.us. Nomination petitions for Philadelphia committee person are available at the Philadelphia Board of Elections in Room 142, City Hall.

Below are the signature and filing fee requirements for candidates on the ballot in 2010.

Elected Office	Filing Fee	Signatures Required	Where to File
United States Senator	$200.00	2,000	PA Department of State
Governor	$200.00	1,000 (including at least 100 from 10 different counties)	PA Department of State
Lieutenant Governor	$100.00	1,000 (including at least 100 from 10 different counties)	PA Department of State
United States Congress	$150.00	1,000 (from same party within the district)	PA Department of State
Senator in the State General Assembly	$100.00	500 (from same party within the district)	PA Department of State
Representative in the State General Assembly	$100.00	300 (from same party within the district)	PA Department of State
Member of State Democratic or Republican Committee	$25.00	100 (from same party within the district)	PA Department of State
County Committee Person	No Filing Fee	10 (from same party within the voting division)	County Board of Elections

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