Signature challenges threaten to knock two Lehigh Valley Democrats off May primary ballot

Two Lehigh Valley Democratic candidates are facing court challenges that could knock them off the May primary ballot, with opponents alleging that both submitted invalid signatures on their nominating petitions.

State Rep. Ana Tiburcio, who represents Pennsylvania’s 22nd House District, and Taiba Sultana, a former Easton city councilwoman challenging longtime incumbent state Sen. Lisa Boscola in the 18th Senate District, each face objections to their candidate petitions filed before Tuesday’s deadline.

Jessica Ortiz, who runs the nonprofit Ortiz Ark Foundation, and Paulette Hunter, both Democrats who live in the 22nd District, filed the objection March 17 in Commonwealth Court, represented by Kutztown attorney Elliott Love. Tiburcio is seeking a full term representing the district, which includes parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township.

Tiburcio’s campaign submitted petitions with 578 signatures, but the objection claims 317 of those signatures should be thrown out. Candidates for the state House must have at least 300 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. If a court agrees with the challenge, Tiburcio would fall short of that requirement.

Ortiz said the challenge is about protecting the integrity of the election process.

“As a resident of House District 22 for more than 27 years, I simply want fairness, transparency and integrity in our elections,” Ortiz said. “Our community deserves confidence that the process is being conducted honestly and according to the law.”

Hunter also criticized the petitions, saying the issue is about fairness.

“As someone who has been in the military, I believe in a fair fight,” Hunter said. “Cheating is not the democratic way to win.”

The objection alleges several problems with the paperwork, including entire pages of signatures that appear to be written in the same handwriting, at least one instance where a signer wrote Tiburcio’s name in place of their own, signers who are not registered Democrats in the district, and missing or incomplete information on petition forms.

It also claims that some circulator affidavits were defective, including pages circulated by Tiburcio, state Rep. Mike Schlossberg and Allentown School Board Director Andrene Brown-Nowell because required dates were not filled in.

Without the challenge, the Democratic primary was expected to feature Tiburcio against Gerlach in a race that could decide the seat. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, giving the primary winner a strong advantage in the general election.

Tiburcio dismissed the objection in a statement, calling it a political distraction.

“Councilwoman Gerlach is playing the same tired games that political insiders play,” Tiburcio said. “I’m not interested in that. Simply stated, she should respect the voter.”

The 22nd District race has been a point of tension among Lehigh County Democrats since last year’s special election. Party leaders initially chose Julian Guridy as their candidate, but he withdrew because of residency issues. Tiburcio, a former Allentown School Board member, was later selected as the party’s nominee and won the seat.

A hearing in her case is scheduled for March 23 at 10 a.m. before the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg. Tiburcio has retained Philadelphia attorney Adam Bonin to represent her.

“I filed my nominating petitions with nearly 600 signatures, more than enough,” Tiburcio said. “While she wastes everyone’s time with this case, I’m going to serve my community to the best of my ability as their newly elected State Representative, and put their needs over mine.”

In the 18th Senate District race, four women — Celeste Dee, Patricia Bruno, Pamela Panto and Patricia Hitzell — filed a challenge against Sultana, alleging that hundreds of the signatures she submitted are invalid and that her financial disclosure form does not meet state requirements.

If enough signatures are rejected, Sultana could fall short of the 500 valid signatures required to appear on the Democratic primary ballot. Ray Lahoud, an Allentown lawyer who has been a major donor in regional politics, is representing the challengers.

The four women are well-known in local Democratic circles — Dee has worked on Boscola’s campaigns, Bruno has run for Northampton County Council and Panto is married to Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.

It is not the first time Sultana has had to defend her petition signatures. A similar challenge arose in 2024 when she sought the Democratic nomination for the 136th House District, though she gathered enough valid signatures to stay on the ballot. She lost that primary to incumbent Bob Freeman.

Unlike Tiburcio, Sultana is representing herself. Both cases are scheduled to be heard on March 23 at 10 a.m. before the Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg.

Sultana said she is confident her campaign will prevail in court and called the challenge an echo of tactics used to undermine Pennsylvania’s democratic process.

“While I will not comment on the specific allegations in this filing until I have consulted with our legal team, I will say this: I am deeply disappointed that a long-time incumbent would resort to the same kinds of legal tactics used by supporters of Donald Trump and Doug Mastriano to try to undermine the democratic process in Pennsylvania,” Sultana said. “Our campaign will fight this challenge in court, and we are confident that we will remain on the ballot.”

Sultana also pushed back on the nature of the challenge itself, arguing the race should be decided by voters rather than lawyers.

“Instead of trying to remove opponents through legal maneuvering, we should be debating the real issues facing Pennsylvania families — the rising cost of living, protecting workers, and standing up to Donald Trump’s attacks on our state and immigrant communities,” Sultana said. “Elections should be decided by voters at the ballot box, not in a courtroom.”

Court filings: Tiburcio case, 125 MD 2026 | Sultana case, 138 MD 2026