Democratic candidate flushed off ballot

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Democratic candidate’s run for the Pennsylvania Legislature is down the drain — partly because he used too little water at the house he claimed as his residence.

A state judge on Thursday threw Frederick Ramirez off the ballot in the race for an open House seat in Philadelphia.

The judge found that low water and electric use at the house Ramirez claimed as his residence showed he really didn’t live in the district. From March through January he was billed for 95 gallons of water — which is less than two toilet flushes a month.