In re Reading School Board Election, Appeal of Pagano

In In re Reading School Board Election, Appeal of Pagano, 535 Pa. 32, 634 A.2d 170 (1993), our Supreme Court ruled that a petition for recount filed with the county board of elections lacking the required verifications of three electors was fatally flawed so as to deprive the board of jurisdiction to entertain the request. Our Supreme Court held that electors who sign a petition for recount filed to common pleas must verify the averments by means of an oath or affirmation before a notary or other public official, i.e., pursuant to an affidavit, and the Court reiterated that an improper verification is "a jurisdictional defect that cannot be cured." In re 2003 General Election for the Office of Prothonotary of Washington County, Appeal of Matheny, 578 Pa. at 19, 849 A.2d at 240 citing, In re Opening of Ballot Boxes, Montour County, 553 Pa. 207, 213, 718 A.2d 774, 777 (1998) ("it has been consistently held for more than eighty years that a recount petition not verified in accordance with the statutory requirements does not properly invoke the jurisdiction of the common pleas court and should be dismissed.").