(a) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth or the proper county board of elections, as the case may be, to examine as to legal sufficiency, in the manner and under the provisions of section nine hundred seventy-six of this act,¹ all nomination certificates and nomination papers brought to his or its office for the purpose of filing for the nomination of candidates for a general or municipal election, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of section nine hundred ninety-three of this act,² and if manifestly defective they shall not be filed.

(b) No such certificate of nomination or nomination paper shall be refused by the Secretary of the Commonwealth or the county board of elections except for a reason provided for in section nine hundred seventy-six of this act.

(c) The action of the Secretary of the Commonwealth or the county board of elections in refusing to accept and file any such certificate or paper may be reviewed by the court upon an application to compel its reception and filing as of the date when it was brought to said office.