Ways to Require More of Presidential Candidates
The Chairman of the WV Senate Judiciary Committee says there are a couple of ways the requirements could be changed to keep some potential candidates off the Presidential ballot in West Virginia in the future.
“The first thing is to try to decide what makes the most sense for West Virginia and, then, the second thing is to see if there can be enough support to make a change,“ Senator Corey Palumbo said.
The review of ballot requirements for Presidential candidates comes after a man serving prison time in Texas, Keith Judd, picked up more than 40% of the Democrat votes cast in the May 08, 2012 Primary Election. President Barack Obama finished with 59% of the vote.
When asked about Judd’s candidacy, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant has said the U.S. Constitution is clear when it comes to who can and who cannot run for President. Candidates have to be natural born citizens, at least 35 years old and have lived in the U.S. for 14 years.
Tennant has said filings are rejected only if a person has changed their party affiliation within the past 60 days, if they have filed for more than one office, if they have missed the deadline, if they have not correctly filed the right form or if they have not paid the filing fee.
Senator Palumbo, though, says other states place more of a burden on Presidential ballot filings. Lawmakers will be looking at those other options in the coming months.
Some states require a certain number of signatures from registered state voters to file, some mandate that the filing forms be signed in person while others give more discretion to the Secretary of State or the political parties when it comes to candidate rejections.
“We’re certainly going to look at that and decide if any of those make sense for us as a state,“ Senator Palumbo said on MetroNews Talkline.
Judd, Prisoner #11593-051 at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texas, actually beat President Obama in the following counties: Boone, Clay, Gilmer, Hardy, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Tucker, Webster and Wyoming.
Such a surge, though, is not just an issue for West Virginia. Other unknown Presidential candidates picked up substantial portions of the Democrat Presidential vote in Arkansas and Kentucky as well.
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Congratulations to Hunter Ashley for getting a 2nd place in the Discus throw. He may be a Freshman, but he can definately out throw a lot of sophmores, Juniors and seniors. Way to go Hunter. Practice always pays off. Proud of you.