HARRISBURG — The period for candidates and their supporters to circulate petitions to qualify for the May 17 primary election was put on temporary hold Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The justices issued an order that apparently applies to congressional and legislative races as well as contests for U.S. Senate and the governorship.
The three-week petition gathering period had been scheduled to begin Tuesday and run for three weeks.
Instead, the high court noted it was hearing oral argument on Feb. 18 in a case that will determine the lines of congressional districts.
“I read this order as applying to all races on the primary ballot,” said Democratic elections lawyer Adam Bonin.
Philadelphia’s elections officials also posted on Twitter that the ruling applies to all nomination petitions.
In the congressional redistricting case, a lower court judge on Monday recommended a new map of the state’s 17 congressional districts and suggested alterations to the petition gathering period. The Supreme Court will have the final say.
