Virginia AG Intervenes in GOP Ballot Dispute--4 other candidates join suit.

[J.E.D]

So candidates who didn't even attempt to get on the ballot are filing suit? That's such bullcrap.

If you dont like the law change it. But until it's changed we should be obeying it. Tough luck to those fools who didnt bother following it.

That's why we have a judiciary, to challenge bad laws.

I think when you've eliminated candidates 65% of the electorate would like to have had a chance to vote for, then the law you have doesn't work.

Also, honestly, if the Weird Mormon Robot can't win a fair fight against Newt, he can't win one against Obama.

Weird Mormon Robot Brilliant

 

[oreo]

So candidates who didn't even attempt to get on the ballot are filing suit? That's such bullcrap.

If you dont like the law change it. But until it's changed we should be obeying it. Tough luck to those fools who didnt bother following it.

That's why we have a judiciary, to challenge bad laws.

I think when you've eliminated candidates 65% of the electorate would like to have had a chance to vote for, then the law you have doesn't work.

Also, honestly, if the Weird Mormon Robot can't win a fair fight against Newt, he can't win one against Obama.

Yes and that's why--several Attorney Generals in the state of Virginia--have stated that Virginia's ballot access rules are UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

Here's just an example of the requirements for Presidential candidates in Alabama.--so you can compare the extreme difference between states and their requirements.

Candidacy [§17-13-102, Code of Alabama (1975)]
To qualify for presidential preference primary ballot access, a prospective
candidate must file a petition or petitions with his or her state political
party chairperson no later than December 14, 2011. The political party’s
chairperson may prescribe the petition format.
P A single petition may be filed with not less than 500 signatures of qualified
electors of the state, or
P Separate petitions from each of the seven congressional districts may be
filed, provided that each petition is signed by not less than 50 qualified
electors of the congressional district.

http://alabamavotes.gov/downloads/election/2012/pba-2012.pdf

So Alabama requires only 500 signatures from registered voters in their state--while Virginia requires 10,000--and 400 of them have to be acquired from each of the 11 districts--and then to add insult to injury-they SEVERELY RESTRICT who can submit the petitions---

 

[asterism]

why 5 out of 7 GOP Presidential candidates did not make it on Virginia's primary ballot.[/B]

It takes 3 attorneys general to figure out why this happened? I could have saved them so much time. The reason it happened is because some of the candidates didn't get enough signatures to be on the ballot, and some of then didn't even try to get on the ballot.

I'm not arguing for or against the law; just stating the facts.

And I'd add that if they think its unfair - fine - get it changed before the next election - but the rules for this election were already set by the duly elected legislature of virginia.

Seriously if you can't get 10k signatures in an above averaged population U.S. state - then you prolly aint gonna win.

One would think that. But then why dd the current President need to have his qualifying signatures faked?

Primary Forgery: Signatures faked to place Clinton, Obama on Indiana's primary ballot - southbendtribune.com

 

[paperview]

The VA AG did an about face:

Virginia’s Cuccinelli Opposes Changes to March Primary Rules

January 01, 2012, 10:33 PM EST


By Tim Higgins and Mike Millard
(Updates with legal challenge in second paragraph.)
Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli opposes changing election rules to allow all Republican candidates on the ballot for the state’s March presidential primary, according to an e-mailed statement

Virginia’s Cuccinelli Opposes Changes to March Primary Rules - Businessweek

 

[Two Thumbs]

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is intervening in his state's presidential primary dispute and plans to file emergency legislation to address the inability of most Republican presidential candidates to get their name on the ballot, Fox News has learned.

Meanwhile, four GOP candidates on Saturday joined fellow candidate Rick Perry's lawsuit against the state, urging the Board of Elections to either allow them on the ballot or at least refrain from taking any action until a Jan. 13 court hearing.

Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul qualified for the Virginia primary, a contest with 49 delegates up for grabs. Perry and the four candidates joining the lawsuit -- Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman -- did not.

The failure of other candidates to qualify led to complaints that the 10,000-signature requirement is too stringent. Cuccinelli, who is a Republican, shared the concerns and plans to take them to the legislature while the candidates work through the courts.

"Recent events have underscored that our system is "deficient," he said in a statement Saturday. "Virginia owes her citizens a better process. We can do it in time for the March primary if we resolve to do so quickly."

Cuccinelli's proposal is expected to state that if the Virginia Board of Elections certifies that a candidate is receiving federal matching funds, or has qualified to receive them, that candidate will upon request be automatically added to the ballot.

Two former Democratic attorneys general are backing the move, along with a former Democratic state party chairman and a former Republican state party chairman.

Former state Attorney General Tony Troy called the Virginia process a "legal and constitutional embarrassment." Fellow former top Virginia prosecutor Steve Rosenthal said: "This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. If it takes emergency legislation, then we need to do it.

Virginia AG Intervenes In GOP Ballot Dispute As Blocked Candidates Join Suit | Fox News

The current and past attorney general's along with both party chairman have now jumped into this issue--as to why 5 out of 7 GOP Presidential candidates did not make it on Virginia's primary ballot. Now the only question is--will this issue be settled before primary ballots are to be mailed out by Jan. 21st?

Lame

They knew the rules going in. If they didn't get the siggies, fuck em.

Romney and Paul paid to get the work done, why should the others get in for less?

any more "fairness doctrine" we want to use?

 

[Cowman]

This shit is going to play BEAUTIFULLY in campaign ads.

 

[Two Thumbs]

This shit is going to play BEAUTIFULLY in campaign ads.

how is that?

Keeping in mind that liberals love to pressure the courts to get what they demand.

 

[Cowman]

This shit is going to play BEAUTIFULLY in campaign ads.

how is that?

Keeping in mind that liberals love to pressure the courts to get what they demand.

Ohhh I dunno... candidates who don't play by the rules whining until somebody lets them do what by state rules they are not permitted to do.

 

[Two Thumbs]

This shit is going to play BEAUTIFULLY in campaign ads.

how is that?

Keeping in mind that liberals love to pressure the courts to get what they demand.

Ohhh I dunno... candidates who don't play by the rules whining until somebody lets them do what by state rules they are not permitted to do.

Like I said; How is the left going to use this, when we all know they do it themselves?

 

[paperview]

This shit is going to play BEAUTIFULLY in campaign ads.

Perry holding up his book "Fed Up" while the headline shows him running to Federal Court cause the crybaby was so inept he couldn't get on the the ballot would be one, for starters...

 

[paperview]

how is that?

Keeping in mind that liberals love to pressure the courts to get what they demand.

Ohhh I dunno... candidates who don't play by the rules whining until somebody lets them do what by state rules they are not permitted to do.

Like I said; How is the left going to use this, when we all know they do it themselves?

Who's the party of "States Rights?"

 

[Two Thumbs]

Ohhh I dunno... candidates who don't play by the rules whining until somebody lets them do what by state rules they are not permitted to do.

Like I said; How is the left going to use this, when we all know they do it themselves?

Who's the party of "States Rights?"

Well it's not the dems, that's for DAMN sure.

And thanks for confessing that the left has little regard for states rights.

Refreshingly honest.

 

[JoeB131]

I'm really amazed that Democrats are SOOOOOOO supportive of Mitt Romney and restrictive voting rules now...

Amazing.

 

[Cowman]

how is that?

Keeping in mind that liberals love to pressure the courts to get what they demand.

Ohhh I dunno... candidates who don't play by the rules whining until somebody lets them do what by state rules they are not permitted to do.

Like I said; How is the left going to use this, when we all know they do it themselves?

What will it matter? The people who weren't morons and too fucking lazy to get it done will be one of the two who wins the nomination. It'll play beautifully as party infighting.

 

[paperview]

Like I said; How is the left going to use this, when we all know they do it themselves?

Who's the party of "States Rights?"

Well it's not the dems, that's for DAMN sure.

And thanks for confessing that the left has little regard for states rights.

Refreshingly honest.

Yep - the right is for "state's rights" - up until they are not and go whining little snot-nosed kids to the fed for help.

Just like the left.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Who's the party of "States Rights?"

Well it's not the dems, that's for DAMN sure.

And thanks for confessing that the left has little regard for states rights.

Refreshingly honest.

Yep - the right is for "state's rights" - up until they are not and go whining little snot-nosed kids to the fed for help.

Just like the left.

Are they involving the Fed? I thought they were handling this at the state level.

and fyi; This is not a states rights issue, it's a state regulation issue. Maybe not even a law.

 

[paperview]

Well it's not the dems, that's for DAMN sure.

And thanks for confessing that the left has little regard for states rights.

Refreshingly honest.

Yep - the right is for "state's rights" - up until they are not and go whining little snot-nosed kids to the fed for help.

Just like the left.

Are they involving the Fed? I thought they were handling this at the state level.

and fyi; This is not a states rights issue, it's a state regulation issue. Maybe not even a law.

Perry went running to federal court for yes - a state's right's issue.

Yes, the state made the laws...once the party decided to take state money for the primary, they had to abide by the statutes enacted.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Yep - the right is for "state's rights" - up until they are not and go whining little snot-nosed kids to the fed for help.

Just like the left.

Are they involving the Fed? I thought they were handling this at the state level.

and fyi; This is not a states rights issue, it's a state regulation issue. Maybe not even a law.

Perry went running to federal court for yes - a state's right's issue.

Yes, the state made the laws...once the party decided to take state money for the primary, they had to abide by the statutes enacted.

Two man race then; Romney vs. Paul.

Since it seems the rest are bent on shitting on a states right to have thier own rules.

 

[JoeB131]

Perry went running to federal court for yes - a state's right's issue.

Yes, the state made the laws...once the party decided to take state money for the primary, they had to abide by the statutes enacted.

Or not.

Look, this has been a big embarrassment for the RPV, and they are facing a lot of angry people right now. So that's really the bottom line of this. the 60+% or so of Republicans who really didn't want to vote for either the Weird Mormon Robot or the Crazy Guy. People who are going to toss their fundraising pleas into the trash because their own state party screwed them. This isn't really so much about the presidency as it will be to their attempts to get enthusiastic voters out to put George Allen back in the Senate.

So they need a face saving way to let these other guys on the ballot, but still look like they are the ones making the rules.

And the ironic thing is, by the time this got to Virginia, most of these candidates would have been eliminated anyway. This will get down to Romney, the Not Romney, and Paul. (and that assumes Paul doesn't become the new Not Romney.)

 

[paperview]

Virginia Attorney General Backs Down On Plan To Change Ballot Access Rules

Doug Mataconis · Sunday, January 1, 2012 · 8 Comments
Just 24 hours after word came out that he was proposing a largely impractical legislative solution to the fact that five Republican Presidential candidates were unable to comply with Virginia’s Ballot Access Law, Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has backed down. This evening, I received the following press release from Brian Gottstein, Director of Communication for the Virginia Attorney General’s Office [emphasis added]:
....
....
The translation of all of this is that Cuccinelli spent hours on the phone with Republicans and Democrats and learned very quickly that there was no way his proposed legislation would make it through the Virginia legislature in time to have an effect on the March 6th ballot. Of course, I told everyone that was the case yesterday.

Virginia Attorney General Backs Down On Plan To Change Ballot Access Rules