Jonathan Pelto, a looming threat on the left flank of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, is ready to lawyer up if his petition drive to get onto the general election ballot is short-circuited.
The progressive former state lawmaker from Storrs is expected to learn early next week whether he and tea party messenger Joe Visconti of West Hartford qualify as petition candidates and potential spoilers in the rematch between Malloy and Republican Tom Foley.
“We are looking into legal options and meeting with lawyers to talk about a potential suit if it becomes necessary,” Pelto told Hearst Connecticut Media Tuesday.
Visconti and Pelto needed to get signatures from 7,500 registered voters by Aug. 6 to get onto the ballot for November.
Local town clerks have until Wednesday to certify the names and send them to the secretary of the state’s office for counting.
The byzantine process, which has resulted in an untold number of signatures being thrown out because of a multitude of technicalities, is the source of growing frustration for Pelto.
“It’s a nightmare,” Pelto said. “I am concerned about it. I’m not pessimistic, but I am concerned about it.”
Pelto, a critic of Malloy on education reforms such as Common Core and corporate incentives, is tempering expectations of his supporters.
“I’ve been trying to be honest with people,” Pelto said. “I didn’t want it to be a shock.”
Visconti, a former town council member and unsuccessful candidate for Congress, had a sunnier outlook.
“We’re pretty confident,” Visconti told Hearst. “We’ve got 3,000 more than we need.”
Both candidates said they were told by the secretary of the state’s office that they would be notified as soon as they reach the 7,500-signature threshold.
“We do compile them on a rolling basis, but we don’t release internal numbers,” James Spallone, deputy secretary of the state, said the counting process.
Pelto said some of the names on his petitions were voided by town clerks because they didn’t include the signer’s date of birth on the sheet, which is not required by law.
While he said he does not want to put the state through costly litigation, Pelto explained that a lawsuit would be filed against the secretary of the state’s office, which would then subpoena individual town clerks to explain why they rejected certain signatures.
A legal challenge could be drawn out, according to Pelto, who said, “It’s going to be like Christmastime when they decide, ‘Oh, you’re on the ballot.’ I’m frustrated.”
The ability of Pelto and Visconti to qualify for the general election could have a dramatic impact on the rematch between Foley and Malloy, who were separated by 6,400 votes in 2010.
Foley’s campaign acknowledged earlier this month that it was encouraging its supporters to sign Pelto’s petitions in the hopes that it would siphon votes away from Malloy.
Visconti said that those Democrats who have signed his petitions haven’t done so to try to hurt Foley.
“They’re more by the rule blue,” Visconti said. “The Democrats, they don’t go for that stuff. They don’t have to.”