Apr 4, 2026 By Mike Jones 6 min read

Meet the new address, same as the old address.

Al Buchtan can remain on the ballot in the upcoming Republican primary election for the 46th State Senate District, but he must amend his candidate’s affidavit to state his residence is in Greene County and not Canonsburg, a state appellate judge ruled Thursday.

Commonwealth Court Judge Stacy Wallace wrote in her order that while Buchtan “believes” he lives at the rental house in Washington County, there was enough evidence from a hearing last week challenging his residency that shows he still has ties to his Cumberland Township home near Carmichaels.

While it’s unusual for a candidate to be permitted to amend election paperwork after it’s been submitted, Wallace is directing Buchtan to do just that because she determined he “did not intend to deceive the public” by listing his residence as Canonsburg, where he began renting a home in October.

“The circumstances strongly suggest that the Washington County address functioned as ‘a place of temporary sojourning’ convenient to candidate’s campaign, rather than a fixed home or abode where he intended to remain,” Wallace wrote in her order. “Candidate is more permanently attached to the home he owns at the Greene County address, where his family resides, where he continues to keep a portion of his belongings, and where he continues to eat and sleep a portion of the time.”

Buchtan, who is running in the May 19 Republican primary against three-term incumbent state Sen. Camera Bartolotta of Carroll Township, will now appear on the ballot with his residence listed as Greene County, barring an appeal to the state Supreme Court. Buchtan said Friday his campaign was already working with the state Department of State in Harrisburg to amend his candidate’s affidavit, which he described as a relatively easy process.

“I think it’s good because we won,” Buchtan said of the decision. “Everything is going good. We’re going to be able to get back on track and head back to the field as far as knocking on doors and doing what we need to do to campaign.”

However, Buchtan said he still spends the majority of his time living at the Canonsburg rental home and will vote at a precinct in the borough there despite the judge’s decision to have him list Greene County as his “domicile” on the ballot.

“I guess it’s just for election purposes,” Buchtan said of the judge’s ruling. “It looked like a middle of the road kind of thing. We’re just pleased to be back on the ballot. Being from Greene or Washington, it doesn’t really matter where we’re at.”

In a written statement, Bartolotta said the decision revealed where Buchtan really lives despite his efforts to list Washington County as his home.

“Voters expect candidates to operate in good faith and be honest about where they live, which is fundamental to election integrity,” Bartolotta said in her written statement. “It is disappointing that my opponent could not be honest with the voters and had to be forced by a judge to tell them where he lives. I remain focused on continuing my work for the families and communities of the 46th district, and I am confident voters will recognize the clear difference in experience, integrity, and commitment.”

The 46th state Senate District includes all of Washington and Greene counties, and the southern sliver of Beaver County. Three registered Republicans living in the district – Dave Ball of Peters Township, Steve Bucar of West Brownsville and Jeff Stewart of Franklin Township – filed the challenge objecting to Buchtan’s candidacy due to questions about his residency. Ball, who is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, declined to comment on whether they intend to appeal Wallace’s ruling to the state Supreme Court before the April 12 deadline.

While testifying for three hours during the March 27 hearing before Wallace in Pittsburgh, Buchtan said he moved to Canonsburg to “scout” the area as his family plans to buy a house in Washington County and move there permanently, although he also admitted to moving there for “political” purposes. His wife, Melinda, and oldest stepdaughter still live at the Cumberland Township home in Greene County.

“The court does not doubt that part of candidate’s motivation in renting the Washington County address was the political advantage of being able to say he resides in Washington County,” Wallace wrote.

But Wallace noted that Buchtan took all the necessary steps to attempt to establish residency in Washington County, although she ruled that his ties to Greene County indicated he still holds his “domicile” there.

“Candidate’s testimony demonstrates he attempted to change his residence to the Washington County address and believed in good faith that he had done so. Candidate took numerous actions to effect a change in his residence, including renting the home at the Washington County address, moving a portion of his belongings to the Washington County address, sleeping at the Washington County address a majority of the time, registering to vote at the Washington County address, changing his driver’s license to the Washington County address, paying cellphone and utility bills for the Washington County address, and spending time at the Washington County address with friends,” Wallace wrote in her order. “The court finds this defect is amendable, however, because Candidate did not intend to deceive the public stating he resides at the Washington County address.”

Before the start of last week’s hearing, Wallace asked attorneys representing Buchtan and the objectors to meet outside the courtroom to discuss a possible compromise, such as having the candidate list his residence as Greene County. The attorneys returned after five minutes and notified Wallace they wanted to proceed with the hearing, which lasted five hours.

With the primary ballot now apparently set, the Washington County Republican Primary has invited both candidates to participate in debate at Washington & Jefferson College moderated by the school’s Young Republicans. It was not immediately known if both candidates will accept the invitation or when the debate would be held.