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The requirements to be on either the R or D primary ballot in VA are set by statute. That would be the state legislature....The RPV’s only role is to certify the candidates who met the requirements. The Governor, Lt. Gov and AG, in their official capacities, are irrelevant to this process.

No. The RPV owns the 15K "safe habor" rule, not the state legislature.

"Any candidate who submits at least 15,000 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions statewide and has at least 600 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions from each of the 11 Congressional Districts shall be deemed to have met the threshold for qualification and will be certified (provided, of course, that other requirements of State law have also been met)."

It was the Safe Harbor rule that gave Mitt a free pass and disqualified Newt and Perry.

I don’t like the 15K ‘pass,’ either, but it was having well under the required 10K verifiable signatures that disqualified Perry and Gingrich. All the worse assuming their people knew that 15K would bypass the check.

Any candidate for any office knows to get half again as many signatures as are required. Perry and Gingrich just started their signature gathering too late.

Maybe we should demand the RPV cross-check all the Romney/Paul petitions and see if they can’t eliminate 7-10K signatures. Then we’d have no need for a primary at all!