U.S. judge hears Va. primary ballot case today

Richmond Times-Dispatch ^ | January 13, 2012 | Frank Green

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....[Gov. Rick] Perry, a states’ rights advocate, along with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are challenging Virginia’s residency requirement for people who circulate ballot petitions.

Candidates must collect 10,000 signatures -- at least 400 hundred of them from each of the 11 congressional districts. As of the deadline, only Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas qualified.

Timing is critical. Officials at the State Board of Elections say they need to mail absentee ballots by Jan. 21 to get them out 45 days before the primary, as state law requires.

Perry filed an emergency motion and on Monday, U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. ordered the state's 134 electoral boards to not mail out or print ballots until today’s hearing. His order expires at midnight.

Gibney explained “there is a strong likelihood” he “will find the residency requirements for petition circulators to be unconstitutional.” He said that did not signal what he might do, if anything, on the question of whether Perry or the others could get on the ballot.

[blueyon]

I for 1 hope they all get on the ballot.................

[Georgia Girl 2]

Me too.