Perry, Gingrich and Others Fail to Get on Virginia Ballot

In a commonsense ruling, a federal judge has rejected the efforts of Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum and Jon Huntsman to get themselves added to the Virginia Primary ballot after failing to comply with the long standing requirements to be placed on a statewide ballot. The rules have been around for about four decades, so the requirement should not have been surprise to anyone. In effect, the would be candidates were asking the court to excuse them for their own incompetence or the incompetence of their staff members. As a result, only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be on the ballot for the Republican Party of Virginia's March primary. No doubt the Christofascists at The Family Foundation will have their panties in a know now that they can't vote for the most virulent of the anti-gay candidates. Here are highlights from the Washington Post:

A federal judge denied a request Friday by four presidential candidates to add their names to Virginia’s Republican primary ballot. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.), former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. failed to qualify for the ballot and sued the State Board of Elections and the state GOP.

U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. said the candidates should have challenged the qualification rules months ago when they realized that Virginia forbids out-of-state residents to collect signatures. “Had the plaintiffs filed a timely suit, the court would likely have granted preliminary relief,” Gibney wrote in his ruling. “In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair.’’

Gibney said he thought a provision requiring the candidates to use only state residents was unconstitutional, but none of the candidates had managed to collect the required 10,000 signatures. Only former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) qualified for the Virginia ballot.

Virginia’s ballot-access rules, in place for four decades, are considered the toughest in the nation. Candidates must collect 10,000 signatures, with at least 400 from each of the congressional districts, while some other states only require candidates to pay fees or sign forms.

Perry’s campaign told state election officials that it had submitted 11,911 signatures, but the lawsuit says 6,000 were submitted. Officials testified that an employee of the Utah firm hired to collect signatures went into a diabetic coma and was unable to either collect all the signatures or turn them in.

Gingrich’s campaign said it submitted 11,050 signatures. But the Virginia firm hired to collect signatures included 1,500 signatures that appeared to be signed by one person.

The Democratic Party of Virginia certified President Obama’s signatures. He was the only Democrat to qualify for the ballot, so the state will cancel the party’s primary.