The article does not say they were disqualified.
The way I read it, it seems to imply that they did not submit 10,000 signatures, which means their guestimate was probably a result of many miscalculations by volunteers due to the last-second chaos.
This would explain the “blind eye” comments, since it would be easy to turn a blind eye to some bad signatures, but impossible to turn a blind eye to not having the required 10,000 signatures on your submitted sheets. Then you’d have to let everyone on.
I have done these things before, and 10%+ DQs is mighty high. It is most likely that they simply never got a correct count amid the hubbub.
I would bet 10-1 that they just didn’t get 10,000 signatures at all. Just my experience and IMHO.
From what I have read about collecting signatures for petitions and referenda, the number of invalid signatures is usually much higher than 10%. I don’t know if there is a general rule, but I suspect you need to collect 20% or more above the required number to be sure you meet the goal.
Sometime the ten thousand is easy. It’s the distribution, 400 in each district, that is more difficult.
Unfortunately, I think Newt might miss the mark as well. I dunno if any news of him being on the ballot as well.
Wonder if the state of VA also allows ballot access through payment of $ if one does not get on the ballot through collection of signed petitions? Here in FL a candidate can collect signatures or pay the $ for ballot access.
In a more recent posting about Newt’s failure to also meet the 10,000 requirement I made the comment below. I should also say that when discussing how many signatures we need to get for our candidate, I was told we should try to get 50% to 100% more than we need because a lot of mistakes get made on the petitions resulting in valid disqualifications. I think the suggestion that only 10% percent more signatures would get the job done was wildly optimistic and almost guaranteed failure for both Perry and Newt.
It doesn’t matter who the Person who qualifies the signatures is if they don’t fill out the forms properly. As stated in the continuation, some 2,000 are missing the address of the signer so they cannot be verified. Also one of the circulators was not eligible to do so.
I am currently seeking signatures for nominating petitions. To be valid, people must print their name and address clearly to have it found, and then sign it to be verified and date the signature. At the end the person collecting the signatures must swear that they witnessed each signature and that they are eligible to circulate the petition. They must be over a certain age, and a resident of that state. There is a fine and possible imprisonment for falsifying anything on the petition.
It is really important to have good staff supervising and training the circulators. Newt got a late start, and part of his staff walked out on him. Not a good management situation.