Just about every election has an instance or two where a candidate is kicked off the ballot for not filing nominating petitions correctly.

The latest to find this out the hard way is Northampton County Council President Kerry Myers, who was elected to lead the council at its reorganization meeting in January.

Myers filed his nominating petition to run for re-election representing District 2, which includes Easton and some of its suburban municipalities, but the petition was challenged successfully by an opponent, and Myers was denied a ballot position.

So, this is a cautionary tale to anyone who plans to run for public office in Pennsylvania. The fees and number of signers of a petition vary depending on which office a candidate runs for. On top of that, there are requirements as to who is allowed to sign nominating petitions.

There are prescribed rules for circulating petitions, with deadlines strictly enforced. Each page of a petition must be properly documented, and each signature must conform to the official signature of the signee on file at the voter registration office. There are also restrictions on those who sign the petitions as to how many petitions they can sign during an election cycle and preciseness to designate the signer’s municipality.

For example, a Lower Towamensing Township signer might have a mailing address of Palmerton but must indicate that he or she lives in Lower Towamensing Township. That person cannot sign petitions for candidates running for municipal office in Palmerton borough.

Myers, a Democrat, made history when he was appointed council president since he is the first Black to hold this leadership post. After Myers’ nominating petitions were challenged, a Northampton County senior judge upheld the challenge, ruling that more than 70 of the signatures on Myers’ petition were invalid. Signatures were stricken from his Democratic nomination petition because some of the signers don’t live in District 2. Some Republicans signed the petition but only Democrats were eligible.

Contending that he has learned his lesson, Myers promised to have volunteers at the polls tomorrow with literature encouraging voters to write in his name for the Republican nomination. That’s right. Myers decided to jump the Democrats’ ship, because he is convinced that the party leadership was out to get him.

It will be an uphill slog for Myers, since District 2 is overwhelmingly Democratic and has not had a Republican representative in more than a decade.

In an interview earlier this year, Myers, a graduate of Easton Area High School and a U.S. Navy veteran, said he’s come a long way from being an inner city Easton resident who didn’t go to college.

With Myers deciding to change political parties, it now gives the Republicans a 5-4 control over the county council. The council president is largely a symbolic role, although it does have some parliamentary procedural components. The county, however, is overseen by County Executive Lamont McClure, a Democrat. His administration runs the government and its 2,000-plus employees, while council controls spending and provides oversight.

Myers contends that the ballot challenge was orchestrated by McClure because he is not one of McClure’s “yes men” on council. McClure disputes this allegation, saying that Myers missed the boat by not getting the required number of valid qualifying signatures on his nominating petition. He also criticized Myers for joining the “MAGA Republicans.”

When he was sworn in during January ceremonies, Myers said, “We’re going to work together, and we’re all going to be friends at the end of the meetings.”

So much for that notion.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.