The independent candidate petition to place Wendell Fant on the November 2010 ballot in North Carolina’s U.S. House district 8 does have enough valid signatures.  The law required 16,929 valid signatures.  The campaign handed in 35,450 raw signatures, and 21,084 were valid.  The validity rate was 59.5%.

This success sets a new nationwide record for the most difficult petition requirement that has ever been met, for the purpose of placing a candidate on the ballot for U.S. House.  The previous record was set in Ohio in 1954, when independent incumbent Frazier Reams overcame a signature requirement of 12,919 valid signatures.  There was also one instance in Illinois which was higher than 12,919, but in that Illinois instance, the petition was never checked because it was not challenged.

The irony of the Fant petition is that Fant himself has not yet said if he will accept the nomination.  He is a former staffer for the incumbent Democrat, Larry Kissell.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is angry at Congressman Kissell because he voted against the health insurance bill.  The SEIU provided the resources for the Fant petition.  Starting in 2006, independent candidates in North Carolina must pay a filing fee, or submit yet another petition in lieu of the filing fee.  The filing fee for U.S. House is 1% of the annual salary, or approximately $1,700.  Fant won’t be on the ballot unless that fee is paid.

Another irony of the Fant petition is that a recent poll shows that Fant’s presence on the ballot as an independent candidate actually helps Congressman Kissell, even though both Kissell and Fant are Democrats.  The Republican primary in this district this year was very contentious, and the loser has said he will not support Harold Johnson, the Republican nominee.  It appears that if Fant is on the ballot, he attracts the votes of some conservatives who are displeased with the outcome of the Republican primary.