It would be wrong to think that Republicans won big on November 4 and are now ascendant. Not very many people like Republicans. Gallup regularly samples voters’ political affiliation and those choosing the Republican Party have declined steadily to only 24 percent this year. Arguably, they have atrophied into just a minor political party.
Wilkes-Barre Libertarian Betsy Summers and Milford resident and political wunderkind independent congressional candidate Nick Troiano have both successfully surmounted numerous ballot access hurdles to submit their nomination signatures for office in the Pennsylvania House and US Congress, respectively.
The VCA (Voters’ Choice Act) aims to extend to independents, the fastest growing electorate in Pennsylvania, and third party candidates the same criteria needed to be placed on the ballot as Republican and Democratic. Currently there exists a large disparity in the number of nomination signatures needed for independents to get on the ballot compared to the quantity needed by members of the Republican and Democratic Parties. The challenge period — the span of time following the submission of nomination petitions during which they may be contested — is also more onerous for independents. Successfully defending against such a challenge often delays an official entry onto the November ballot until late into the election cycle, thus diminishing the impact on the electoral process by independent and third party office-seekers.