Newt Gingrich Petition Also Falls Short in Virginia

Posted on by December 24, 2011
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According to this story, Newt Gingrich’s Virginia presidential primary petition, like Rick Perry’s petition, did not have enough valid signatures. Virginia requires 10,000 signatures for access to a presidential primary ballot, the nation’s most difficult presidential primary petition requirement that is mandatory for all candidates.

The Virginia Republican presidential primary will be on March 6. The only names on that ballot will be Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, the only two candidates whose petition was valid. On the Democratic side, President Obama’s petition was sufficient. Since no other Democrat qualified, and since Virginia doesn’t permit write-ins in primaries, the Democratic presidential primary will not be held.

Virginia didn’t require any petition for presidential primary ballot access in 1988, the year Virginia first held a presidential primary, for candidates who were prominently discussed in the news media, or who had qualified for primary season matching funds. Then Virginia abolished its presidential primary, bringing it back, with mandatory petitions, starting in 2000.

The next presidential primary jurisdiction with a mandatory petition deadline is the District of Columbia. D.C. petitions are due January 4, 2012. Thanks to Bill Redpath for the link.

Rick Perry’s Virginia Petition Doesn’t Have Enough Valid Signatures

Posted on by December 23, 2011
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On December 23, the Republican Party of Virginia determined that Rick Perry’s petition to be on that state’s presidential primary ballot does not have enough valid signatures. See this story.

Governor Perry is one of only two Governors, in the last 60 years, who vetoed a bill to improve ballot access. On May 20, 2003, he had vetoed HB 1274, which deleted a Texas requirement that petition circulators must read a 93-word statement to every voter they approach. The bill had passed both houses of the legislature unanimously. The statement, which is still in the Texas law, thanks to Perry’s veto, said, “I know that the purpose of this petition is to entitle the (whichever) Party to have its nominees placed on the ballot in the general election for state and county officers. I have not voted in a primary election or participated in a convention of another party during this voting year, and I understand that I become ineligible to do so by signing this petition. I understand that signing more than one petition to entitle a party to have its nominees placed on the general election ballot in the same election is prohibited.”

Forcing a circulator to read this lengthy statement slows down the progress of any circulator, and shows that, at least in 2003, Governor Perry had no interest in fair ballot access. But, maybe the recent Virginia experience will affect his attitude about ballot access barriers. Thanks to Cody Quirk for the news.

U.S. Justice Department Blocks South Carolina’s New Law Requiring Government Photo-ID at the Polls

Posted on by December 23, 2011
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On December 23, the U.S. Justice Department’s Voting Rights Section refused to pre-clear South Carolina’s new law, requiring voters at the polls to show a government photo-ID that hasn’t expired. South Carolina is one of the states covered by section five of the federal Voting Rights Act. Therefore, the state cannot change its election laws without either approval from the Justice Department, or approval by a 3-judge U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department is also considering whether to approve a similar new law in Texas.

Donald Trump Changes His Party Affiliation from “Republican” to “Independent”

Posted on by December 23, 2011
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On December 22, Donald Trump changed his party registration from “Republican” to “independent.” In previous decades he had at various times been a Republican, and other times a Democrat, but this is the first time he has ever been registered outside both major parties. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news. UPDATE: Trump also registered into the Independence Party in 1999 for a while. Thanks to the commenter below for this correction.