By Michael Currie Schaffer
Inquirer Staff Writer
Up to 90 percent of the nominating petitions circulated in Philadelphia by Ralph Nader's presidential campaign were marred by forgeries and other improprieties, according to a group of Democrats that plans to file a legal challenge in Commonwealth Court today to keep the independent candidate off the state's general election ballot.
Separately, a Philadelphia lawyer said yesterday that he would file a lawsuit against Nader this morning on behalf of dozens of petition circulators, many of them homeless, who he said had not been paid for their work.
The challenges come a week after Nader submitted about 45,000 petition signatures, well more than the 25,697 required to get on the ballot. About 30,000 signatures were gathered in Philadelphia, the group said. The effort attracted national attention because many Democrats fear that Nader could drain enough support from Sen. John Kerry to throw Pennsylvania's 21 key electoral votes to President Bush.
"This is the worst nomination petition or paper that I have seen in the last 15 years," said Gregory M. Harvey, an election-law attorney working for the group challenging Nader's nominating petitions.
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