Milton Street officially in race - but for how long?

T. Milton Street Sr. is hoping that the third time truly will be a charm.

After the weather twice derailed his plans to formally announce a run for the Democratic mayoral nomination, Street managed to pull off the campaign tradition Thursday evening at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in North Philadelphia.

The question remains, however, whether he will be able to stay on the ballot until the May 19 primary.

Street changed his voter registration in 2012 to "independent" to unsuccessfully run in a special election for the 197th District state House seat.

There is no record that he ever changed his registration back to the Democratic Party. He is in the voter registration books as an independent. That being the case, it would seem he has little hope of staying on the ballot should someone challenge his party status.

Street, 74, was undeterred Thursday.

"I'm running," he said. "I will be on the ballot."

He said he changed his voter registration, by mail, back to Democratic in 2012 and subsequently voted in two Democratic primaries.

As proof, he said, he has "certified copies" of signature pages from polling books that show he signed in to vote in two primary elections since 2012.

"The conclusion is, all is well," he said. "I voted. I voted twice. I have the damn copies. I'm not concerned about anything."

Street declined to show reporters the copies, saying they would have to wait until Tuesday, the deadline for challenging someone's ballot status. He said he was unsure whether the signature pages listed his party registration.

City Commissioner Al Schmidt said that the polling books would list Street's registration and that it would be shown as independent. The books are generated from the City Commissioners' voter registration records, he said.

In a subsequent interview, Street acknowledged that signature pages list his registration as independent. He insisted, however, that he was not aware of that when he voted and he had been permitted to cast ballots in the Democratic primary.

Street could have voted in primary elections as an independent if there were ballot questions to be decided, Schmidt said.

The city's voting machines, he said, also have a "no vote" option that can be used by registered independents who simply want to maintain a record of election participation even in primaries.

It is conceivable that Street voted in a Democratic primary while registered as an independent, according to a city official who declined to speak on the record. It is not unheard of, the official said, for poll workers to turn a blind eye when registered independents insist they are registered with a party and demands to vote.

Street is one of six candidates for the Democratic nomination. Others are State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, former District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, former City Councilman James F. Kenney, former Common Pleas Judge Nelson A. Diaz, and Doug Oliver, former spokesman for Mayor Nutter.

It remains to be seen whether Street will continue in their company.