Late Pennsylvania rep was on ballot due to law, not fraud

By ANGELO FICHERA and GRAPH MASSERA
Associated Press

Voters in Pennsylvania did reelect the late state Rep. Tony DeLuca in Tuesday’s midterm elections even though the 85-year-old Democrat died of cancer Oct. 9. But accusations that it suggested shoddy elections or cheating misrepresent the situation. State law stipulates that substitutes, in the case of the death of a candidate, cannot be submitted after ballots have started printing — late September, in this case. A special election will be held to fill his seat.