All the articles have been saying they’re turning them in at the last minute, so it wasn’t the first thing anyone did apparently. I can understand the third-tier campaigns not having the money to spend. For Newt and Perry, I would guess it came down to the campaigns hiring a manager in each state who failed to live up to the job, or just hiring them too late and giving them an impossible task within the timeframe.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/21/news/la-pn-newt-gingrich-diverts-to-virginia-20111221
“Gingrich told reporters in Iowa this week that he expected to “barely” make it on the Virginia slate as well. Late Wednesday, it seemed that he had reached his goal. His campaign tweeted that it had cleared the 10,000 mark.”
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/12/22/new-gingrich-focuses-on-virginia-ballot
“Gingrich said Wednesday he had enough ballot signatures, but he wanted to come to Virginia to deliver them personally. Taking no chances, his volunteers asked everyone to sign petitions before entering Gingrich’s rally Wednesday night in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington.”