GOP, Green Party Sue Over North Philly Special Election

Republican nominee Lucinda Little and Green Party nominee Cheri Honkala have accused the Democratic Party and its candidate of illegal electioneering.

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In an unlikely union, Republican and Green Party candidates who lost the special election to fill a seat in the state House of Representatives are attempting to fight the results.

According to the Inquirer, Republican nominee Lucinda Little and Green Party nominee Cheri Honkala have filed a lawsuit requesting that a federal judge overturn the election because, they allege, Democratic candidate Emilio Vazquez and his party contributed to illegal electioneering and questionable poll activities in the 197th District.

Vazquez, who was sworn in Wednesday, has said little of the other candidate’s allegations and attempts to nullify the election results. Yesterday, he told the newspaper that he was not concerned about the lawsuit. “They lost,” he reportedly said. “We had a better campaign.”

The special election is currently under investigation by the district attorney and attorney general’s office. Responding to allegations of illegal electioneering last month, Vazquez said it “is clear that Republicans are taking plays from the Trump playbook, making up their own set of facts, and then crying ‘voter fraud’ when they don’t get what they want … As for the Green Party, this wouldn’t be the first election they have contested to get attention and then fundraise off of it.”

The Inquirer reports that the lawsuit accuses Democratic election board workers of illegal voter assistance and influencing the election by employing tactics like intimidation.

Adam Bonin, Vazquez’s attorney, told CBS3 last week that the ongoing investigation is not likely to “disturb the results of the election … when the outcome is this clear.”

Vazquez, who campaigned as a write-in candidate in the heavily Democratic district, secured about 73 percent of votes. Honkala, also a write-in candidate, took about 10 percent, while Little, the only candidate on the ballot, received less than 8 percent.

Follow @ClaireSasko on Twitter.