By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Former Erie County Legislator George Holt remains off the Democratic primary ballot after the State Court of Appeals refused to hear his case.
But Holt's attorney says a bigger issue remains: Whether state election law is fair to the homeless.
Holt was disqualified from the ballot after elections officials found that a homeless man who collected petition signatures for him did not list his correct address on his paperwork. As a result, a state Supreme Court justice invalidated four sheets of signatures the man had gathered -- leaving Holt 20 signatures shy of making the ballot.
Wednesday Holt's attorney James Ostrowski took the case to the state Court of Appeals, but the judges refused to hear the appeal.
Ostrowski argues that the state Supreme Court finding threatens the rights of homeless people to participate in the political process.