Too few flushes get legislative candidate thrown off ballot

Neighbors testified they never saw Ramirez on their block, the bedroom light was always on and the home never seemed to put out trash for curbside pickup.

"The fact that there are no photographs or pictures on the walls, combined with the fact that his daughter's room is still decorated for an infant, more strongly reveals that (the) candidate is not domiciled at (the house), but merely uses that location as a convenient place to stay" when he is working at a nearby clinic he owns, wrote Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey.

The judge's ruling leaves just one candidate on the ballot for the March 21 special election, Republican Lucinda Little, in what is an overwhelmingly Democratic district.

A spokeswoman for the Department of State, which oversees elections, said the agency's lawyers were examining whether Democrats are legally allowed to pick a new candidate.