O'Neill Challenges Opponent's Nomination Petition

In a statement released to reporters by the Bucks County Republican Party, State Representative Bernie O'Neill (R-29) says that approximately 150 signatures on primary challenger Gloria Carlineo's nomination petition are invalid because the signers do not reside within the 29th district. O'Neill also calls attention to the fact that Carlineo's own signature appears on the petition multiple times.

"Whether the inclusion of the out of district and duplicate signatures was a true mistake or an attempt to inflate her signature total and deceive the State Election Bureau is a question that the courts and, perhaps, the voters of the 29th District, will have to decide," O'Neill says in his statement to the press.

In order for a candidate to appear on the Pennsylvania General Assembly ballot of the April 24 Republican primary, he or she must have at least 300 signatures from registered Republican voters residing in the district.

Carlineo told phillyburbs.com that the proposed redistricting maps earlier in the year created confusion over where the 29th district's lines would eventually fall, so she solicited signatures from voters who lived within the potential new boundaries.

Those maps were thrown out by the State Supreme Court late January, and a federal judge ruled that this year's elections should use 2001's maps. According to those current maps, the 29th district includes parts of Warminster, Upper Southampton, Buckingham and Warwick.

Carlineo also said that her multiple signatures were used as an example for prospective signers to follow. She says that she has more than 500 signatures, 400 of which come from residents within the proper boundaries.