The Trenton Times published the following article on March 13, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
A mix up with candidate certification at Trenton City Hall has officials scrambling for a fix
By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
on March 13, 2014 at 12:17 PM, updated March 13, 2014 at 12:30 PMTRENTON — A mix-up at City Hall may have led candidates to submit the wrong number of signatures needed to qualify for May’s elections.
As a result, city employees were recounting the signatures after business hours last night.
The deadline to submit signed petitions for the elections was Monday, and certification letters were sent to candidates who turned in at least 238 signatures. Now, city officials believe that number should have been 385.
The change in the number of petitions would affect candidates in all the races for mayor and city council.
City Clerk Richard Kachmar is believed to have misinterpreted state election law in telling candidates to produce too few petitions, each of which has one signature.
Mayor George Muschal, who also is council president, said Kachmar admitted to him that he was wrong in his interpretation of the law and made a mistake.