An unresolved residency challenge in a Philadelphia judicial race poses a challenge for mail ballots

An unresolved residency challenge filed against a Philadelphia judicial candidate in the May primary has led to a delay in mail ballots going out to voters in the city.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that a lower court judge behind the decision to knock Democrat Mike Huff off the ballot essentially used too narrow a lens when determining whether Huff was eligible to run in Philly. The Commonwealth Court judge had focused on a particular line in the election code that says a married person’s residence is where their family lives.

Huff says he moved to Philadelphia in May 2024 and his wife has continued to live in Bala Cynwyd, where they lived together for 20 years. The couple has no intention of getting divorced, he said in court in late March, and they are happily living separately for now. Those looking to boot Huff from the ballot argued that because his wife remained in Bala Cynwyd, he remained a Montgomery County resident in the eyes of the law. Huff’s attorney said that interpretation was based on a “sexist view” of the election code.

The Supreme Court said other factors need to be considered when determining residency, including where a candidate sleeps, whether he leases or rents, and what belongings he keeps at the address.

“The Commonwealth Court did not assess Candidate’s credibility or weigh the evidence of record to make a determination, based on the totality of the circumstances, of whether Candidate has satisfied the residency eligibility,” wrote Justice Kevin Brobson in the opinion.

Commonwealth Judge Lori A. Dumas now has until 3 p.m. Wednesday to reconsider the residency challenge. Philadelphia City Commissioners have held onto the mail ballots, which are legally required to begin delivery no later than two weeks before the primary, though ideally, the commissioners aim for more time. In a letter to the Supreme Court, the commissioners said they had aimed to “lock” their database of candidates by Monday.

City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, a Democrat, is not panicking yet. She said last-minute ballot changes are “more common than people think,” and the system is built to accommodate them.

But some observers worry about what should be done if the residency challenge is still being worked out in the courts when the ballots are required to go out the door.

Huff and his supporters have touted the opinion as a landmark decision “for voting rights and judicial fairness,” citing the Democratic machine as the motivation behind the residency challenge — Huff, who is backed by progressives, chose to run without the party’s endorsement. Party chair Bob Brady has maintained that the challenge is an effort to protect Democratic candidates who live in the city and nothing personal against Huff.

“He’s a nice man, he’s a qualified attorney, but he’s qualified to run in Montgomery County,” Brady said earlier this month.

He declined to comment on the Supreme Court decision.

Huff never denied his time in Montgomery County during a hearing in Commonwealth Court, nor did he shy away from the fact that he works full-time at the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. He said his work has often spanned the tristate area.

Huff dismissed aspersions that his move to Philadelphia was a fraudulent scheme, as suggested by some Democrats, to run.

Huff said the move coincided with a moment in his life that required change. He and his wife, who remains a Democratic committeeperson in Lower Merion, lived in Mount Airy, but eventually moved to Bala Cynwyd for larger housing as their family grew.

Huff said he always wanted to move back to the city when his children grew up, having maintained a law office on Race Street; canvassed for local candidates; and represented Philadelphia protesters, encampment occupants and organizers, and fair-housing advocates.

He said he sometimes spends the night in Bala Cynwyd but moved into a unit of the Mount Airy triplex the couple now rents out. His upstairs, downstairs, and next-door neighbors testified to seeing and hearing Huff every day.

“We provided overwhelming evidence at trial that I live in Philadelphia and intend to stay here. We feel very confident that if the Commonwealth Court follows the standard set forth by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, our status on the ballot will be secure,” Huff said.

Commissioners “locked” the ballots Monday with Huff’s name on them — his name remained as his appeal made its way to the Supreme Court — and voting machines began testing this week.

The commissioners do have a way to let people voting in person know if there’s been a candidate change: They place physical signs on the machine in English, Spanish, and Chinese. They issued the notices in 2022 about three candidates who had withdrawn after the ballots were finalized.

Such notes can also be sent to voters with their mail ballots.

But addressing a potential last-minute change becomes thornier if Dumas once again rules Huff can’t be on the ballot and he appeals, leaving the case unresolved as ballots are sent out.

Republican City Commissioner Seth Bluestein echoed Deeley’s confidence in getting mail ballots sent by the statutory deadline. Still, he said the commissioners would have an important decision to make.

“As the board of elections, we should be very careful not to prejudice voters for or against any particular candidate before a final decision has been made on whether those candidates are eligible to be on the ballot,” he said.