ELECTION LAW
Representation with respect to election issues.
The following are examples of our representation in this practice area:
Sprague & Sprague was responsible for a ground-breaking Pennsylvania
election law decision in the area of campaign finance and third-party
advertising. We were successful in obtaining a temporary restraining order
which barred an out-of-state, third-party organization from sponsoring or
disseminating commercials, advertisements, mailings or other
electioneering materials for the purpose of influencing a statewide
election without complying with Pennsylvania election laws.
The Firm represented a candidate for state representative in a hotly
contested election contest adjudicated in the federal courts.
Acting pro bono, Sprague & Sprague obtained a ruling from the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania canceling elections for the offices of Justice of
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and Judge of the Superior Court of
Pennsylvania on the basis that the elections had been illegally scheduled
in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Sprague & Sprague successfully represented 136 petitioners who sought to
have a court declare as invalid a ballot initiative, purportedly signed
by over 27,000 registered voters. Twelve days after first gaining access
to the sheets containing the alleged 27,000 signatures, we presented
convincing evidence to the court that over 20,000 of those purported
signatures were invalid, because numerous persons signing were not
registered voters, many sheets containing the purported signatures were
not properly notarized or witnessed, many of the signatures were
forgeries, and various other reasons. The court declared that the papers
supposedly signed by over 27,000 voters were invalid.
