I am circulating petitions in another jurisdiction. The elections board warns us to get the address very carefully, including the words street, road, place, terrace, etc. Also to be sure they are printed legibly. I have looked at some of the petitions others have gathered and this information is barely or not even legible and missing at times.
Training petition signature gatherers is very important. We had an opportunity to attend a 1 1/2 hour training by the elections board. I also carry Registration forms with me so if a person has moved I can hand it in with the change of address. Unfortunately, then I also have to go back and get the signature AFTER I have hand carried the Registration form to the elections board. The process is not easy, thus the need for a disciplined, careful campaign organization. I suspect that Newt did not have that in place. In my jurisdiction there is a 10 day opportunity to challenge rejections, no need to go to court.
Here is a link about the Newt rejection. It has over 2,000 comments, some of which are quite interesting. One commenter suggested that he should have gotten 15,000 signatures. I was told I should get about twice the number of signatures required for my candidate. I am linking this, not because I am a Huff Post enthusiast, but because it is what comes up on my AOL email page.
50+ percent is the gold standard. And yes, your petition gatherers are extremely important.
The state attempted to invalidate all my 400, when they called my mother’s address to verify that I had collected all of them. Thankfully, she relayed to me the message, and I was able to call and confirm that yes, I had signed the petition.
It’s hard work, but when done well makes all the difference in the world.
“I was told I should get about twice the number of signatures required for my candidate.”
Spot on advice. Third parties have to deal with this BS all the time, which is probably why Ron Paul met the requirements: his people knew better.