LAWRENCE COUNTY Justice candidate removed from ballot

A judge struck 42 signatures from the nominating petitions of the challenger.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The spring election campaign for a Lawrence County district justice seat pretty much ended this week.
Raymond F. Macri, the only opponent of incumbent Melissa Amodie, was ordered off the Democratic ballot after Lawrence County Judge Craig Cox struck 42 signatures from Macri's Democratic nominating petitions. That left him three shy of the required 100 names needed to be on the ballot.
The problems: Cox ruled that some signatures were illegible, other signatures didn't correspond with signatures on voter registration cards, and some people had signed Amodie's petition first.
Others were not registered voters and some signers did not live in the city of New Castle, according to the judge's ruling.
Only city residents can sign the petitions because the district encompasses only the city.
At a hearing last Thursday before Cox, Amodie questioned 70 signatures on Macri's petitions. During the hearing, the judge also ruled that Macri didn't have enough registered Republican signatures from those who live in the city to qualify for that ballot either.
District justice candidates are able to cross-file in Pennsylvania primary elections.
Macri could still file as an independent or a write-in for the general election in November.
Reaction: Macri said he was disappointed with Cox's decision to strike the names off the Democratic petition.
"I did the best with what I had," he said.
He argued that several of the signatures, while appearing illegible, are the way those people sign their names regularly.
"If that's their signature, that's their signature," he said.
Amodie said this morning that she could not comment on the decision because of her position as a district justice.