The St. Clair Township supervisor and clerk have filed objections challenging the validity of the signatures on nominating petitions filed by three candidates running for elected office.

Supervisor Tim Buchanan, of Swansea, objected to the petition filed by David Moore, of Belleville, for St. Clair County Township supervisor, and Township Clerk Mary Carroll, of Swansea, objected to petitions filed by Greg Hipskind, of Shiloh, and Sherman Poston, of Belleville -- both are candidates for township trustee.

The Township Electoral Board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the township office, 107 Service St. in Swansea, to discuss the objections.

Buchanan alleges 175 signatures on Moore's petition are invalid. According to Buchanan's objections, 72 of the signatures were printed and not signed, 61 signatures are from individuals not registered at their given address, 19 signatures are from individuals not living in the township, 14 signatures have a missing or illegible address and nine of the signatures didn't match the county voter certification sheet.

Moore could not be reached for comment.

Carroll alleges 134 signatures on Hipskind's petition are invalid. According to Carroll's objections, 30 of the signatures are from individuals not registered at their given address, 29 are forged signatures, 28 have a missing or illegible address, 24 are duplicate signatures, nine are printed as opposed to signed, eight have illegible signatures and six signatures are from individuals not living in the township.

Hipskind said his brother, John Hipskind, an associate attorney with Kurowski Shultz, LLC in Swansea, is handling the objection to his petition.

"We find the objections to be baseless," Greg Hipskind said. "During the hearing, we are confident we will prevail."

Carroll also alleges 185 signatures on Poston's petition are invalid. According to her objections, 63 of the signatures are from individuals not registered at their given address, 31 are illegible signatures, 24 are forged signatures, 23 are duplicate signatures, 21 are printed as opposed to signed, 14 have a missing or illegible address and nine are from individuals not living in the township.

"It's crazy to make those accusations," Poston said. "I think they are baseless objections. At this level, I think it's just politics as usual. I'm really confident we will win on Thursday."

Poston also obtained John Hipskind as his attorney. Poston said he and Greg Hipskind are running as an "independent team."

If Buchanan and Carroll's objections prove valid, it would drop the number of signatures on all three petitioners below the required number of signatures needed for a candidate to be placed on the April 9 ballot.

Buchanan said two different electoral boards are set to hear the objections Thursday.

"If a person is running for that office, that person can't be involved in the electoral board," he explained.

Thus, the electoral board for the supervisor objection will be comprised of Chairman Greg Bridgman, Carroll and Rich Schobert, and the electoral board for the trustee objections will be comprised of Buchanan as chairman, Schobert and Dave Barnes Sr.

Buchanan said he expects the electoral boards to meet again next Thursday, Jan. 17 to render their decisions on the objections.

If either the objector or petitioners aren't satisfied with the township electoral board's decision, they can file a petition for judicial review with the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk. This petition must be filed within five days of the local electoral board's decision.

St. Clair Township encompasses the area between Green Mount Road on the east and Frank Scott Parkway on the west excluding the city of Belleville.

Contact reporter Jamie Forsythe at 239-2562 or jforsythe1@bnd.com.

Contact reporter Jamie Forsythe at 239-2562 or jforsythe1@bnd.com.