In Ballot Fiasco, Virginia Loses Chance to be Relevant
The Republican nomination fight might be all but over by March 6, or Super Tuesday, when Virginia holds its primary. But if there is still a contest, the state's chance to be relevant has vanished with the fiasco over its primary ballot.
Barring any successful appeals, the only two names on it will be Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Their success confirms that they have the best organized campaigns, and not just in Iowa and New Hampshire. At the same time, the failures of five other major candidates to get on the ballot, including McLean, Va., resident Newt Gingrich - the frontrunner in at least one poll of his state -- suggest the Virginia rules are out of line.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, tweeted that Virginia has "most restrictive ballot in USA." That even extends to no provision for write-ins.
Sabato said the restrictions have been popular with both parties - when they are in power. "The incumbent party loves anything that reduces competition & consolidates power," he tweeted.
The GOP has been in charge recently in Virginia and, according to political scientist Josh Putnam, the party behaved exactly as you would expect given a chance this year to change the law. "All this griping about the VA pres primary ballot. Dem-sponsored legislation would have reduced the sig. requirement by half. Went nowhere," tweeted Putnam, a Davidson College professor who writes a primaries blog called Frontloading HQ.
The Democrats' bill would have cut the required signatures from 10,000 to 5,000. The absurdity of what's going on now could be enough to prod both parties toward change. If their memories last long enough.
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