Posted on 12/27/2011 3:48:28 PM PST by TBBT
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has filed suit in federal court against the Virginia Republican Party and the Virginia Board of Elections in order to gain a spot on the Commonwealth's primary ballot. Perry was excluded after the party found he had not submitted enough valid signatures by the deadline last Thursday. His campaign submitted 6,000 of the required 10,000, according to the suit. The lawsuit alleges that Perry's 1st and 14th Amendment rights were violated by the requirement that those circulating the petitions also be eligible or registered voters of Virginia. Failure to get on the ballot is a major embarrassment for the struggling Perry campaign — but he is not alone. Another one-time GOP frontrunner, Newt Gingrich, also failed to qualify. "Gov. Perry greatly respects the citizens and history of the Commonwealth of Virginia and believes Virginia Republicans should have greater access to vote for one of the several candidates for President of the United States," Perry communications director Ray Sullivan said in a statement. "Virginia ballot access rules are among the most onerous and are particularly problematic in a multi-candidate election. We believe that the Virginia provisions unconstitutionally restrict the rights of candidates and voters by severely restricting access to the ballot, and we hope to have those provisions overturned or modified to provide greater ballot access to Virginia voters and the candidates seeking to earn their support."
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Agreed, this whole election cycle borders on insanity. I’m glad Perry stepped up. From what I’m seeing on Fox...they’re behind Mittens now...so I’m losing all respect for those jokers at this point. Perry is my first choice, his gaff’s are far less an issue for me than Nut bag Ron Paul, Rino Romney and shady Newt.
Screw that. Get Rick And Newt back on the ballot and have a fair fight!
Nah, he's content letting Romney do all the dirty work right now.
Perry has some lawyer supporters I know. He is in VERY VERY good hands.
Lawsuits.....the last refuge of a loser.
Perry has some lawyer supporters I know. He is in VERY VERY good hands.
Good for him! I hope between Perry, Newt and Cuccinelli the Virginia GOP, Romney and Rove get stiffed.
The trick here is that Bolling and his running dog lackeys have applied the rules with an exactitude that makes his boy Romney look like an election fraud specialist ~ kind of like Obama.
It would be best for the GOP to just back off and open up registration to all willing to pay the registration fee. After all, the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Virginia (meaning me) are going to be paying for the primary ~ it's not the party's private money.
Since it's my money I'd like to see some of my favorite candidates on the list, not just a cranky old nutcase and a loser.
You do realize this offense against my rights deserves really serious punishment ~ now whether or not the courts will hand that out Bolling probably ought to flee to his friends in Chicago now. Maybe they can protect him.
Most are misapprehending what Perry’s legal argument is– It’s not that the petition signers must be registered voters; it’s that “THOSE CIRCULATING THE PETITION MUST BE REGISTERED VIRGINIA VOTERS. ”
Got it? Virginia law currently forbids a Perry campaign worker from Texas (for example) from collecting signatures from Virginia voters on his behalf.
As cited in Perry’s Complaint, the US Supreme Court has previously ruled that such a limitation was a violation of the 1st Amendment. (Colorado case).
Have to believe that this fiasco will be settled with all candidates out of Court.
“Fox News is worse than CNN and equal to MSNBC”
Is that you, Frantzie?
(just kidding)
Thanks a lot - at least you're in Texas and will have a choice in your primary. In Virginia, we have the old Soviet Union, err, Virginia GOP, who chooses my candidates for me.
Perry should start reminding people about the New Jersey rule that allowed Frank Lautenberg on the ballot, bypassing all existing laws.
The SCOTUS refused to hear the case, calling it a state issue.
-PJ
From an article titled: “Search The Web, Monday, December26, 2011
Virginia GOP Changed Rules For Primary In November 2011?” by Suscan Duclos -
Share
The Code of Virginia states:
“Any candidate who submits at least 15,000 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions statewide and has at least 600 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions from each of the 11 Congressional Districts shall be deemed to have met the threshold for qualification and will be certified (provided, of course, that other requirements of State law have also been met)”
“If any candidate submits fewer than 15,000 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions statewide or fewer than 600 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions in one or more of the 11 Congressional Districts, the Republican Party of Virginia will individually verify signatures until the 10,000 signature statewide threshold and/or 400 per Congressional district is met.”
Because Perry and Gingrich only submitted 11,000 plus signatures they had to be individually verified, yet Paul and Romney’s signatures went through NO verification process whatsoever because they submitted over 15,000.”
According the article - The Gingrich and Perry Campaigns submitted fewer than the required 15,000 thus required verification.
So why does Perry get special consideration??? Seems pretty clear that they didn’t do due-diligence!
Brief says the Supreme Court ruled in ‘Buckley’ that it’s unconstitutional to require petition-gatherers be state voters, or even residents.
I guess that provides an ‘out’ for the RPV.
(And Perry didn’t formally declare until Oct 31! Good grief!)
*
Thanks for the link to his filing!
Why is this great news? Rick Perry is an idiot and has no more business in this race than Mitt.
Why is this great news? Rick Perry is an idiot and has no more business in this race than Mitt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.