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VA GOP Changed Ballot Access Rules Last Month
Big Government ^ | 12/26/11 | Publius

Posted on 12/26/2011 10:23:56 AM PST by Nachum

There are currently many news stories and blog discussions about the Virginia presidential primary ballot access law. Some large blogs, such as Red State, have over 300 comments about the story. Some defend the current Virginia ballot access laws on the grounds that in past presidential elections, a fairly large number of Republican presidential primary candidates managed to qualify.

But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were not checked. Any candidate who submitted at least 10,000 raw signatures was put on the ballot. In 2000, five Republicans qualified: George Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, and Steve Forbes. In 2004 there was no Republican primary in Virginia. In 2008, seven Republicans qualified: John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Alan Keyes.

(Excerpt) Read more at biggovernment.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: 2012gopprimary; backstabberromney; ballot; benedictromney; bishopromney; gop; gopcannotbetrusted; karlrove; norules4romney; romneyabovethelaw; romneydirtytricks; romneytricks; roviantricks; rules; saboteurromney; secretrules4romney; smellslikemitt; tokyorove; va; va2012; vagop; virginiaprimary
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1 posted on 12/26/2011 10:23:58 AM PST by Nachum
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To: Nachum

Blatantly obvious what`s going on.

Fix is in for Romney RINO.


2 posted on 12/26/2011 10:27:48 AM PST by Para-Ord.45 (+)
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To: Para-Ord.45

The RINOs in VA are about to get a very rude awakening.


3 posted on 12/26/2011 10:31:12 AM PST by DarthVader (That which supports Barack Hussein Obama must be sterilized and there are NO exceptions!)
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To: Nachum
This requires a substantive hmmmmmmm.
4 posted on 12/26/2011 10:31:16 AM PST by afnamvet (Patriots Rising.....Donate to Free Republic....... It's the right thing to do.)
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To: Nachum

This is the undated letter.

The PDF file contains a hidden Microsoft Word creation date of 12/21/2011.

5 posted on 12/26/2011 10:39:11 AM PST by Gideon7
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To: Nachum
They might have gotten away with it if they had waited four weeks until the field had narrowed, and it didn't’t look like their rules excluded 5 out of 7 major candidates. But instead they tried to bury it in the Friday before Christmas news dump at 2AM and epic fail. Bad news for RINO’s with Hot Air and Big Government picking up this story.
6 posted on 12/26/2011 10:44:16 AM PST by ez (When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.)
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To: ez

No problem, all the GOP has to do is change the rules back. After all, the DNC did it for Lautenberg in NJ.


7 posted on 12/26/2011 10:53:01 AM PST by Hurricane
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To: DarthVader

Does that include the RINO-in-Chief John Warner? Where is he now?


8 posted on 12/26/2011 11:02:31 AM PST by Theodore R. (I'll still vote for Santorum if he is on the April 3 ballot.)
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To: Gideon7
Who was this letter addressed to, do you know?

Or was this simply a cover your A$$ letter?

If the candidates started their petitions drive in good faith and ASSUMED the old laws were in effect, I would think those petitions should be Grandfathered in. You can't just change the laws in mid stream of something, well maybe they can, how convenient.

15000 names do not have to be checked, by volunteers? But, 10600 names WILL HAVE TO BE CHECKED by volunteers checking other volunteers work????

Can't 5001 of those 15000 be false as well?

9 posted on 12/26/2011 11:09:39 AM PST by annieokie
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To: Hurricane

agree 100% on the GOP changing the rules...the DNC didn’t change the rules in NJ- they just changed the candidates during the period they were no allowed to make a switch and broke the rules but the pu$$y GOP never fought them over it...


10 posted on 12/26/2011 11:11:42 AM PST by God luvs America (63.5million pay no federal income tax then vote demoKrat)
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To: Nachum

The only real solution to this mess is for VA GOP voters to vote for Ron Paul. A Paul win in VA means fewer delegates for Romney

Too bad so many are caught up in the FOX/MSNBC/CNN attacks on Paul, and will not vote for him. However, if Romney wins VA, it will be over for your favorite candidate


11 posted on 12/26/2011 11:13:28 AM PST by RealImmigrant (National Security begins at the Border)
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To: Mitt Romney; Pat Mullins; Bill Bolling

The case of Osborne v. Boyles, was on October 24th, where Independent state delegate candidate Michael Osborne filed suit ...

But that is not a valid excuse here, because Osborne was running for a STATE office, not a Presidential Primary.
http://www.varight.com/news/virginia-may-have-improperly-excluded-signatures-from-perry-gingrich-a-recount-may-be-needed/

Virginia law REQUIRES an address on petitions for state offices: § 24.2-506
...signed by the number of qualified voters specified below after January 1 of the year in which the election is held and listing the residence address of each such voter.

Virginia law does NOT require an address on petitions for Presidential Primaries: § 24.2-545

This law regulating primary signatures is clearly separate. § 24.2-545 specifically does NOT require addresses, nor the signatures to be taken after January 1st.
B. Any person seeking the nomination of the national political party for the office of President of the United States, or any group organized in this Commonwealth on behalf of, and with the consent of such person, may file with the State Board petitions signed by at least 10,000 qualified voters, including at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district in the Commonwealth, who attest that they intend to participate in the primary of the same political party as the candidate for whom the petitions are filed. Such petitions shall be filed with the State Board by the primary filing deadline. The petitions shall be on a form prescribed by the State Board and shall be sealed in one or more containers to which is attached a written statement giving the name of the presidential candidate and the number of signatures on the petitions contained in the containers. Such person or group shall also attach a list of the names of persons who would be elected delegates and alternate delegates to the political party’s national convention if the person wins the primary and the party has determined that its delegates will be selected pursuant to the primary. The slate of delegates and alternates shall comply with the rules of the national and state party.
It is reasonable for some voters to understand that Virginia law has NEVER required the address on those primary petitions. It is optional, just like the SSN on the presidential petition form is also optional.

I believe there is also a recent Virginia court precedent where a petition gatherer was slightly in error on something, and the judge ruled that the voter should not be disenfranchised. The voter's intent to sign the petition outweighed the slight technical difficulty.



P.S. I wonder how many Romney petitions were gathered by ACORN spin-offs,
and say just "Mickey Mouse" or "Donald Duck"? We may never know because
you made 15,000 a "magic number" so that no Romney petitions would be examined!




(Gingrich-haters, please do not address or reply to me.)
12 posted on 12/26/2011 11:14:27 AM PST by Future Useless Eater (Chicago politics = corrupted capitalism = takeover by COMMUNity-ISM)
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To: annieokie

“Who was this letter addressed to, do you know?
Or was this simply a cover your A$$ letter?”

A couple of good points. This whole thing does not pass the sniffer test.


13 posted on 12/26/2011 11:37:36 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: Para-Ord.45

“Blatantly obvious what`s going on.

Fix is in for Romney RINO.”

Yep, it looks like the rules were changed mid-stream.


14 posted on 12/26/2011 11:38:33 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: RealImmigrant

How much cash do you get to post for Paul?


15 posted on 12/26/2011 11:52:47 AM PST by netmilsmom (Happiness is a choice)
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To: RealImmigrant

Absolute nonsense. I won’t vote for Ron Paul not because of FOX, etc. but because of Ron Paul himself. He’s a crazy old man who would harm this country. Every time he opens his mouth that is made clearer and clearer.

You Ron Paul cultists are as crazy as he is.


16 posted on 12/26/2011 11:58:07 AM PST by beandog (Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand)
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To: Nachum

From GOP Chairman’s letter:

“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.”

Seems like a legal promise that the verification process is ongoing-— no deadline. The omitted candidates should be allowed to amend their petitions to meet the threshold— so long as they can amass the requisite support.


17 posted on 12/26/2011 12:48:55 PM PST by VinL (It is better to suffer every wrong, than to consent to wrong.)
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To: Nachum

So where does Newt and even Perry go from here? also, will they be excluded from the Virginia debates? if there are any? what options are available now? imo the fix has been in and way before Virginia. Romney is going to be IT or else...by any means possible.
He will lose to Obama


18 posted on 12/26/2011 1:14:51 PM PST by katiedidit1 ("This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." the Irish)
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To: katiedidit1

That’s the whole point. They cannot go anywhere. We have been played again by the GOP AND the Obama machine.


19 posted on 12/26/2011 1:20:26 PM PST by Nachum (The complete Obama list at www.nachumlist.com)
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To: annieokie

With Romney’s petitions it’s probable 100% of them are forgeries.


20 posted on 12/26/2011 1:26:11 PM PST by muawiyah
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