The Virginia State Board of Elections ruled Tuesday that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader did not have enough valid signatures to earn a spot on the state's presidential ballot, the latest decision in a process marred by allegations of partisanship.
After reviews conducted by local registrars' offices, only 7,342 of the 13,034 signatures collected by the Nader campaign were Virginians registered to vote, according to Jean Jensen, secretary of the State Board of Elections.
The decision likely will have little impact on the race between Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush in Virginia, but it is a blow for Nader, who is trying to build on his performance in the 2000 election, where he garnered almost 3 percent of the popular vote.
Rick Johnson, Nader's media representative in Virginia, said the campaign was hoping to repeat the situation Nader faced in Maryland. There, he said, Nader was initially denied a spot on the ballot, but the campaign discovered valid signatures missed by the Maryland Board of Elections and plans for Nader to be on the ballot in November.
"We're still optimistic that Ralph is going to be on the ballot," Johnson said.
While the State Board of Elections considers the matter closed, Johnson said the campaign is willing to go to court, especially after the percentage of invalid signatures turned out to be extremely high.
A review by the Washington Post found that several of Nader's circulators listed their Virginia addresses as hotels and likely did not live in the state.
"If the count is accurate, we'll proceed accordingly," Johnson said. "If it looks like the count was inaccurate, we plan to sue to get on the ballot."
The events surrounding Aug. 20, the deadline for signatures to be submitted, are disputed by several participants. According to Nader's campaign, Jensen refused to accept the signatures until ordered to do so by Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. Jensen said her initial refusal was based on advice from the Attorney General's office after Nader's supporters did not follow board regulations. She said she accepted the signatures after the office issued a legal opinion on the validity of the regulations.
Nader has listed Virginia as one of several states where the Democratic Party is actively attempting to keep him off the ballot. Nader's campaign in Virginia has said Jensen's former service as executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party affected her decisions regarding the ballot.
"There were concerns about the partisan politics involved in that," Johnson said.
Jensen denied the charges and noted that the Libertarian and Constitution Parties both collected enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.
"In the two and a half years I have been in this job, I have never taken any partisan action," Jensen said.
Laura Bland, communications director for the Virginia Democratic Party, denied charges of Democratic obstruction and observed that Kilgore is involved with the Bush/Cheney campaign in Virginia.
"While that disturbed us greatly, we certainly supported every effort to make sure that the signatures that were filed were verified," Bland said.
The use of independent signature collectors, who are often paid by the signature, may have been the reason why the Nader campaign's signature drive fell short. While numbers were not immediately available from Nader's campaign, Johnson said the campaign did hire some of its signature gatherers.
Andrew Chavez, owner of Petition Partners LLC, an Arizona company that collects signatures for petitions and ballot drives, said while only three or four organized companies like his exist, there are thousands of independent contractors and some commit fraud.
"Some circulators are shady individuals," Chavez said.
The solution, according to Chavez, lay in oversight by the campaign hiring collectors.
"It's all about oversight," Chavez said. "Some of this stuff is very obvious when you have quality control."
Chavez also noted that the usual rate of invalid signatures is about 17 percent, much less than the 40 percent recorded by the board of elections.
Jensen noted that in 2000, Nader's campaign, then run by the Green Party, turned in its signatures early and without controversy.
Whether Nader appeared on the ballot or not, Johnson said the campaign would continue its efforts to present Nader as an alternative choice for governing the country.
"It's time to give someone else a chance," Johnson said.
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