Did the VA GOP change the rules on primary ballot access in November 2011?

Richard Winger over at Ballot Access News has an EXTREMELY interesting post (link via here) on the mess that the Virginia Republican party has found itself in over… access to the ballot in Virginia. For those coming in late, background here and here: the very short version is that the VA GOP only certified Mitt Romney and Ron Paul for its primary ballot. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich both had too many signatures tossed; Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann didn’t even try. Of the seven candidates, one (Romney) had more than enough signatures (15K) to bypass the verification process entirely. All of this has caused a lot of agitation among Republicans following the primary process, of course; and not just from people who disapprove of what the VA GOP has done. There has been a good deal of defending of the outcome; and one argument heavily used in this defense has been that the campaigns all knew the rules and that previous Republican campaigns were able to get on the ballot, so clearly a competent current Republican campaign should have done so.

One small problem with that: as Winger argues, the rules were allegedly drastically changed. In November of this year.

“I think Myth was getting a little nervous about Newt’s surge and called in a favor to his buds in the Virginia GOP.”

Apparently a few of Myths’s closeted supporter are also a little nervous about getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar lol.

“So how is it that’s “The LAW requires 10K signatures, and has for more than 10 years both for the presidential and U.S. Senate primaries” is what you were saying all along ? It was and remains statutorily 10K.”

I’ve never denied that, I’ve been saying it all along. That is the law.

It is you who do not understand the difference between the state law and the GOPVa rules. Do you not understand that we are talking about the rules from which the VaGop puts forward?

They have never been reviews if candidates put forward 10K. Now they have changed the rules late in the game.

Oivey. It is not rumor. There is only a most recent letter sent out by the VaGop, making the change to 15,000 to avoid review.

If you have evidence that the VaGop has had this new requirement all along...please put it forth and change all of our minds.

“Even if the facts you have are accurate, I don’t see how adding 5,000 signatures more than a month before the deadline is that big of deal for a presidential/national campaign.”

Yeah because, time, energy and resources aren’t important in a nationwide election...right? You don’t change the rules midstream...certainly not at the end of the game.

“And I think it stinks to high heaven to accuse Virginia Republicans who were simply trying to respond to a lawsuit...”

There was no mandate to respond in the middle of an election, they could have constructed the new rules for the next election. The people responsible were either incompetent or shilling for Establishment loved Romney...I think reasonableness leans to the side of shilling for Romney like good Establishment Republicans. Getting candidates deleted on change of rules speaks to the corruption inherent in Party politics and is absolutely representative of local and Republic Politburos in the now defunct Soviet system.

“Especially since no one would have had a poor word about the process had Gingrich made it.”

so it comes down to “it’s Ok to manipulate the system so that my candidate wins”....

That’s corrupt thinking. ....and btw, only one viable candidate survived the machinations....Mittens, the ESTABLISHMENT RINO....how cute.

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