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I don't think it was. These rules have been in place since 1999. The state legislature sets the rules, e.g., 10,000 signatures from registered voters with at least 400 coming from each of the 11 Congressional districts, and pays for and administers the primary. We don't have party registration. It is an open primary. When you go to the voting place, you declare which slate of candidates you are voting for, Rep or Dem.

I live a few miles from Newt in the same community. I attend our monthly Rep county meetings. We have over 600 members. The county has three Cong districts that include parts of the county. Rep candidates have used the monthly meetings to collect signatures as well as at other adjacent county GOP meetings. Romney and Paul folks were there collecting signatures starting in July. I don't recall Newt ever having someone there collecting signatures.

Whatever one may think of the rules in VA, the time to challenge them is not after the fact, but when they were announced in March. Newt is not on the ballot in Missouri, Santorum is not on the ballot in DC. Huntsman failed to get on the ballot in AZ. Either you are a serious candidate or you are not.

I don’t have the VA. links but there was a huge kerfuffle on here about it and one poster really laid out a great argument as to how VA. rinos in charge laid out a plan to exempt the other candidates and o.k.ed Mitts submission,and the very next day made changes to the rules. Dec. 15 as I recall.Lots to this thing in Va. I just don’t have the links handy.

http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2011/12/26/did-the-va-gop-change-the-rules-on-primary-ballot-access-in-november-2011/

Here is one of the links here from red state.