The Presidential Campaign

Nader petitions Supreme Court

ELECTION 2004 [Times photo: Lara Cerri] Presidential candidate Ralph Nader speaks at USF's St. Petersburg campus Thursday night. PRESIDENTIAL RACE Nader loses voter support, but is a factor President to be back in bay area tonight for fundraiser Rally to feature vice president candidate Kerry bags goose, and GOP criticism Nader petitions Supreme Court AT A GLANCE George Bush John Kerry POLITICS 2004 A commercial break Staff hid missing votes 13 days Election chief warns of absentee scam Property appraiser race hinges on old rivalry Six City Council hopefuls face off For clerk hopefuls, fans could become foes after election Group faces accusations of broken voting laws A guide to proposed amendments Commissioners grill would-be colleagues

WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to place him on the general election ballot in Pennsylvania, a battleground state expected to be critical in the outcome of the Nov. 2 presidential election.

In a sign the high court planned to move swiftly, Justice David H. Souter immediately requested that Pennsylvania officials file a response to Nader's emergency request by 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Nader's late-evening filing asks the Supreme Court to review Pennsylvania's decision to remove the independent candidate because of legal problems with his nomination papers that left him thousands of signatures short of the number required.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the finding of flawed signatures on voter petition sheets, which a lower court called "rife with forgeries."

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