ACKLIN CAMPAIGN DISCUSSES BALLOT CHALLENGE, GENERAL ELECTION STRATEGY
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
CONTACT:
Andy Gastmeyer, Press Secretary
412.327.6951 | 412.481.3150
Acklin Campaign Discusses Harris Ballot Challenge, General Election Strategy
PITTSBURGH – On a conference call this morning, Acklin for Pittsburgh Field Director Matt Merriman-Preston updated members of the media on the status of the Acklin for Pittsburgh field campaign, and also discussed the Franco “Dok” Harris ballot access challenge being heard in the Court of Common Pleas today.
“This campaign has always anticipated running a three-way race. It was a three-way race yesterday, and — unless we’re all surprised by a ruling today — it will be a three-way race tomorrow. The Acklin campaign has been built from the beginning to reach out to voters throughout the city and gain enough votes to win, no matter what the landscape looks like,” Merriman-Preston said.
The call highlighted the following points:
• A side-by-side comparison of where the Acklin and Harris campaigns gathered their nomination signatures showed that the Acklin campaign has been far more successful in running a disciplined, city-wide campaign, rather than a confined, regional campaign.
• Kevin Acklin has been canvassing and speaking to voters seven days a week for the past three months. Acklin, his outstanding field staff, and a team of volunteers are conducting the kind of massive, city-wide campaign necessary to unseat Mayor Ravenstahl. To date, the Acklin for Pittsburgh ground effort has reached out to more than 50,000 city voters.
• According to the petition filed to set aside the Harris nomination papers, 67% of the signatures submitted were invalid. The remaining 825 valid signatures are significantly less than the number required for ballot access.
• The Harris campaign submitted over 400 signatures from electors who identified a residence outside the City of Pittsburgh, such as Bethel Park, Fox Chapel, or Sewickley.
• The Harris campaign submitted over 1,000 signatures from electors not registered to vote in the City of Pittsburgh.
• Other errors from the Harris nomination papers include: the circulation of pages with no candidate information on them, the circulation of pages by an elector who resided in Allison Park, and the incorrect identification of the candidate’s own ward and district on his Candidate Affidavit form.
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