Pa. judge could rule on Altmire’s petitions soon


March 5, 2012 at 8:42a.m.

Pa. judge could rule on Altmire’s petitions soon

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Commonwealth Court judge is expected to rule soon whether U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire has enough legal signatures on his nomination petitions to continue running against fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Mark Critz.

Altmire and Critz are running against one another because their congressional districts were merged during reapportionment, the once-a-decade process of revising boundaries to reflect population shifts.

As such, both incumbents are seeking their party’s nomination in southwestern Pennsylvania’s newly redrawn 12th District, created by Republicans who control Harrisburg to force the men into a primary contest during.

Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini heard arguments from both sides Friday and has said he may rule as early as today on whether Altmire has the necessary 1,000 signatures to be on the ballot.