Burlington GOP Surrogate candidate doesn’t make the ballot

The Republican candidate for Burlington County Surrogate has been tossed from the ballot after County Clerk Joanne Schwartz, a Democrat, found that Michael Boyd fell 27 signatures short of the 269 required on his nominating petitions.

Schwartz found that of the 308 signatures filed by Boyd, 76 were invalid, bringing his total to 232.  Five of the signatures came from registered Democrats, and four were not registered voters.  Others included duplicate and illegible signatures.

Burlington County Republican Chairman Sean Ealen said he will challenge the decision in court.  The challenge to Boyd’s petition was filed by Matthew Riggins, the Democratic county chairman.

If the court challenge is successful, Republicans will have a second chance to nominate someone through a write-in campaign, but the winner must get at least 269 votes.

The Democratic incumbent, Brian Carlin, is seeking re-election to a second term.