Ralph Nader, renowned consumer advocate and presidential aspirant, cannot appear on Pennsylvania's ballot as an independent because he accepted the nomination of the national Reform Party in May, a court panel ruled yesterday.

		On the Net Text of the Commonwealth Court decision, in .pdf format

The decision provides breathing room for Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, and for Pennsylvania Democrats, who viewed Nader as a threat to Kerry's chances of securing Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes.

Recent polls show Kerry and President Bush nearly deadlocked in Pennsylvania, with Nader taking 2 percent to 5 percent of potential votes.

The ruling, written by Commonwealth Court Judge Doris A. Smith-Ribner, notes that "in Pennsylvania, candidates seeking to appear on the ballot as independents may not have sought nomination by a political body in the same election cycle."

The decision short-circuits what was to have been a more extensive review of Nader's nominating petitions and the signatures on them. Last week, attorneys hired by a group of voters who support the Kerry candidacy argued that more than 37,000 of the 47,000 signatures that Nader's campaign submitted to the state this month were flawed or forged.

Nader's attorney, Samuel Stretton, admitted as much last week, saying his own cursory analysis of petition signatures found that up to three-quarters could have been contested, meaning Nader would fall short of the 25,697 signatures needed to get his name on the ballot.

Yesterday's ruling made a line-by-line audit of Nader's signatures unnecessary.

Just a week after Nader submitted nominating papers, Democrats filed suit in Pennsylvania, worried that Nader could siphon votes from Kerry. Some Democrats still blame Nader for then-Vice President Al Gore's loss to Bush in 2000, saying Nader sucked away vital votes in Florida and elsewhere that otherwise would have gone to Gore.

Nader's candidacy did not appear to be a factor in Pennsylvania in 2000. He tallied just over 103,000 votes, and Gore won the state by more than 200,000 votes over Bush.

The Commonwealth Court ruling isn't technically the end of the road for Nader and his running mate, Peter Camejo. Nader's attorney can appeal the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese said an appeal is likely "because this decision is wrong."

Chuck Ardo, a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell, said, "Although the governor's office had no direct involvement in the controversy, we respect the Commonwealth Court decision, and believe it to be the right one."

The three-judge Commonwealth Court panel also ruled that Camejo was disqualified because, in an attempt to get on the ballot as an independent, he signed an affidavit saying he was not an enrolled member of a political party, when in fact he was a registered Green Party member in California.

That law, called the "disaffiliation rule," dates to 1980, after former Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri, a registered Democrat, got on the general election ballot as an independent after skipping the Democratic primary.

"[Nader's attorney] tried to argue that because Ralph Nader is so righteous, the ordinary rules don't apply to him," said Gregory M. Harvey, a Philadelphia lawyer who assisted Reed Smith attorney Efrem Grail in arguing the case against Nader. "But the Commonwealth Court said the ordinary rules on being an independent are applicable."

Actually, Nader's attorneys argued not on the basis of his virtue, but of his residency, saying the state's third-party election laws apply only to Pennsylvania residents, and not Nader or his running mate. Nader's group also argued that the candidates' First and 14th Amendment rights would be violated if Nader is not permitted on the state ballot.

The court panel disregarded those claims.

"The law in this commonwealth is that statutes must be interpreted in a common-sense and rational manner, and in such a way as to avoid absurd or unreasonable results," Smith-Ribner's opinion read.

State Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, the House minority whip, said in a statement that "it's time to put an end to this farce so the voters of Pennsylvania can focus on the real choices they have to make in the nine weeks that remain before the election."