ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 22nd House of Representatives District officially is a two-woman race.
An objection against state Rep. Ana Tiburcio's candidate paperwork was withdrawn Tuesday.
A day before the matter was slated to go to court, Jessica Ortiz and Paulette Hunter withdrew their objection to Tiburcio's petition to appear on the primary ballot.
Their initial filing said 317 of Tiburcio's 578 signatures should be ruled invalid, which would have left her short of the 300 signatures needed to make the ballot.
The reasons for striking the signatures ranged from allegations of fraudulent signatures to circulators forgetting to date paperwork.
"This was a blatant effort to disenfranchise voters, one which was ultimately dropped because Councilwoman Gerlach's supporters were forced to acknowledge that we had more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot."State Rep. Ana Tiburcio
With the objection withdrawn, Democratic voters in parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township will decide if Tiburcio, a former Allentown School Board director, or City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach will earn the party's nomination.
The winner is expected to face Republican Robert E. Smith Jr. in the November election. Smith is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Tiburcio, who officially was sworn in as state representative Monday after defeating Smith in a special election last month, said Tuesday she was proud of the work her volunteers and campaign did to get her on the ballot.
"This was a blatant effort to disenfranchise voters, one which was ultimately dropped because Councilwoman Gerlach's supporters were forced to acknowledge that we had more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot," Tiburcio said.
The 22nd District is the most partisan state House seat in the Lehigh Valley. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district 2.5-to-1, giving them a sizeable advantage in the district.
Sultana challenge on deck
Court records show the Lehigh Valley's other petition challenge still is slated for Wednesday afternoon in Harrisburg.
Four women, including state Sen. Lisa Boscola's campaign manager, have objected to the petition of Taiba Sultana, Boscola's primary challenger.
The objectors allege that 417 of Sultana's 901 signatures shouldn't count for reasons including forgery and illegibility.
For the challenge to stand, Boscola's backers would need to prove that almost all of the questioned signatures are bogus.
"Elections should be decided by voters at the ballot box, not in a courtroom."Taiba Sultana, 18th state Senate District Democratic candidate
In addition, the challengers contend that Sultanta should be disqualified over vagueries in her statement of financial disclosure.
Sultana listed her occupation as self-employed without giving further details, which the challengers argue isn't specific enough to meet state law.
Sultana has criticized Boscola for filing the challenge, saying the longtime incumbent is trying to undermine the democratic process.
"Elections should be decided by voters at the ballot box, not in a courtroom," Sultana said in a previous statement.
If Sultana's nomination survives the challenge, she would face Boscola in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 18th state Senate District.
The winner would face Republican Scott Janney in the general election.
The seat represents the Bethlehem, Easton and Slate Belt areas of Northampton County.
