Pennsylvania's 183rd district will face a race to the ballot before the April primary. On March 2, House of Representative hopeful Marc Grammes will have to appear in Dauphin District court to defend his petitions.

Three people, Alice J. Walls, Mark A. Cuth, and Adam J. Swift III, have filed an Objection to Nominating Petition with the commonwealth, according to the State Department.According to Grammes, fellow GOP primary election opponent Cindy Miller is behind the petition filing."It's based on a technicality. It's a legal issue," Grammes said.Grammes is asking the House Representative Campaign Committee to intervene."I'm asking them to withdraw the lawsuit and let voters choose the candidate."In order to be added to the voting ticket, 300 signatures from residents in the district must be collected. Grammes collected 600 signatures, but it is a financial statement of interest that is in question. Grammes has run for the seat two times before this upcoming election. This is Miller's first time running for state office."Mr. Grammes has failed to follow the Pennsylvania's Election Law by failing to file Statement of Financial Interest with the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission and have it time stamped before the deadline," said Cynthia Anderson, Miller's campaign manager."It's very frustrating," Grammes said. "You have to have money in your pocket, and we only have a certain time frame to move forward. If she won't withdraw the petition, we will have to let the judge decide.""We just want a factual statement," Anderson said. "We will just have to let the judge decide," she agreed.Both the state Supreme Court and lower Commonwealth Courts have held in the past that failure to file the financial statement can be "fatal to any candidacy" for state office, according to the State Ethics Committee."Mr. Grammes has refused to take responsibility for his own failure to follow the law," Miller said. "The law is in place to ensure state government is open and transparent."The 183rd district consists of Slatington, Walnutport, Northampton, and portions of Whitehall, Moore, South Whitehall, Washington and Lehigh townships. The district is currently represented by Republican Julie Harhart, who will retire at the end of the current term. Along with Miller and Grammes, Zachary Mako is also making a bid for the Republican ticket. Two Democrats, Phillips Armstrong and Terri Powell, are also racing for the seat.