Church Lady: “Well, isn't that special? "
"Could Typo Rewrite Caucus History? (Santorum may regain win)"
Posted on 12/29/2011 4:33:17 AM PST by markomalley
The fight to place all seven Republican presidential candidates on Virginia's primary ballot is moving toward the courts while one candidate bumped from the ballot, Newt Gingrich, insisted Wednesday that he was the victim of fraud.
The conservative Citizens for the Republic and former Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Paul Goldman said Wednesday that Virginia failed to follow its own laws in determining which candidates should make the ballot. The state delegated its duties to the political parties without double-checking their work, Goldman said.
Virginia requires candidates to submit signatures from 10,000 registered voters, including 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. The rules came under scrutiny after two presidential contenders trying to get on the March 6 ballot -- Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- were rejected because they didn't have enough valid signatures. Only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas made the Virginia ballot.
Perry failed to hand in the minimum 10,000 signatures, officials said, while Gingrich, a former House speaker who calls Virginia home, barely met the threshold and fell below it when some of his signers were disqualified.
Gingrich said his campaign paid an outside group to gather petitions and someone from that group submitted 1,500 fraudulent signatures, disqualifying him.
The State Board of Elections warned candidates in March to collect 15,000 to 20,000 signatures to ensure they'd meet the 10,000-name threshold.
In a statement defending its actions, Virginia Republicans said they also informed candidates in October to get 15,000 signatures and noted that none of the campaigns "offered any complaints until after the Dec. 23 validation process had concluded." Gingrich and Perry "did not come close to the 10,000 valid signature threshold" and were properly disqualified, the party said.
Those challenging the ballot process say it's unlawful because each political party uses a different standard for certifying petitions, and neither party verifies whether a person actually signed the petition. Instead, parties cross-check names and addresses against a database of registered voters.
Goldman and Citizens for the Republic are asking state leaders to convene a special General Assembly session immediately to change the rules so that any credible candidate can appear on the primary ballot. There's a sense of urgency because absentee ballots must be printed and mailed by Jan. 21.
"There's no perfect solution, but there are better solutions than what you have," Goldman said. "It basically makes us the laughingstock of the country."
Lawmakers, however, see little reason to change a system that worked for more than a decade.
"Every statewide candidate has to do that," said Republican House Speaker Bill Howell. "These aren't outlandish restrictions. We've been living with them for years. Perhaps we need to look at the law, but we'll do so prospectively, not retroactively."
Perry filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday insisting that Virginia's ballot restrictions are unconstitutional. And Goldman and Citizens for the Republic are willing to do the same.
"The argument is we've been doing it the wrong way for years and years and we see no reason to change it," said Bill Pascoe, executive vice president for the conservative group. "I don't anticipate having to go to court. But is that an option? Sure."
If I were the head of the VA GOP, I would be begging the judges to find in the plaintiffs’ favor to get over this fiasco.
What benefit do they see in disenfranchising 70% of the state's GOP voters?
Will the paid contractor suffer consequences for his/her criminal act?
Church Lady: “Well, isn't that special? "
"Could Typo Rewrite Caucus History? (Santorum may regain win)"
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