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Charlie Riedel / AP
Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Main Street Cafe in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Tuesday.
After failing to secure a spot in Virginia's presidential primary, the presidential campaign of Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday filed a federal court challenge to the state's stringent ballot access rules.
Perry was one of several candidates, including Newt Gingrich, who failed to gather 10,000 individual voters' signatures by Friday's deadline.
"We believe that the Virginia provisions unconstitutionally restrict the rights of candidates and voters by severely restricting access to the ballot, and we hope to have those provisions overturned or modified to provide greater ballot access to Virginia voters and the candidates seeking to earn their support," said Perry communications director Ray Sullivan in a statement.
Perry's lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a state law that says those who circulate petitions to get a candidate on the ballot must be eligible, or registered, to vote in the state. Perry claims that requirement violates his freedom of speech and association.
He also challenges another provision of Virginia law that requires that a portion of signatures for statewide candidates must come from each congressional district in the state. Those signers must attest that they intended to vote in the primary of the candidate's political party.
Perry's campaign notes that other states' laws similar to Virginia's ban on out-of-state petition circulators have been struck down by federal courts.
One of the nation's leading experts on election law predicted tough going for Perry's challenge.
"Such a suit now faces long odds, both legally and politically," said Prof. Rick Hasen of the University of California at Irvine Schoool of law.
The initial hurdle, Hasen explained, is the failure to bring suit before filing time. "This is an emergency of Perry's (and Gingrich's) own making. Surely they knew of the requirement earlier," he said.
Hasen said the federal courts have reached mixed decisions on residency requirements for petition circulators.
Sullivan told NBC News on Friday that the campaign planned to review "the facts and the law to determine whether an appeal or challenge is warranted."
In a statement released to press Tuesday, the Perry campaign argued that the Virginia rules are "onerous" and deny both candidates and voters their 1st and 14th amendment rights "to meaningfully participate in the political process."
The Virginia contest is scheduled for March 6.
NBC News justice correspondent Pete Williams reported from Washington. NBC News correspondent Carrie Dann reported from Osceola, Iowa.
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If that tyrant followed through on his rant of Texas seceding from the US, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Something else that will come back to bite ( his ass) him if and when he makes it to the GOP convention.
I'M Rick Perry dammit ! and I am not going to allow a stupid law stop me from being President.
Well, I might vote for perry as president of Texas but I'll vote for Ron Paul as president of the united states of america.
Typical Republican, "The Law applies to everybody but me". And too stupid to realize he's making an a** of himself.
Is it just me or does it seem like every time something doesn't go the way the republicans think it should they say it is "unconstitutional"? The next thing you'll hear from them is that Virginia is just a bunch of socialist!
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
He doesn't meet the requirements in time, and then sues? Oh yeah, like I will ever vote for this guy ... Maybe the guy that sued Starbucks and him can get together.
Get out of here Perry ... We had a person from Texas as President just recently and he sucked!!
So all you political bashing peeps. Who, or What would you like to see a president do? That is within his means. Not the congresses?
I'm absolutely dumbstruck! On one hand, I could care less if Perry or Gingrich are on Virginia's ballot.......so I would say, go ahead, let them be on the ballot! BUT WAIT......isn't it the Republican's who are putting up voter roadblocks all over the country? Funny how they want to rewrite state voter laws all over the country to make it harder for typically democratic voter blocks to cast votes......but they want it to be easier for republicans. I call that hypocritical!
Wait, I must be losing it.....was it Newt himself who praised Romney a few years back for what he did regarding health care in Massachusetts? I lived in MA during that time and while many (myself included) doubted the new law, nearly everyone is praising it now......as it has has nearly 4 years post implementation, and things are much better. One of the best things President Obama could have done was to use the MA law as a framework for the federal law.....and to credit Romney and MA. Funny how when there is irrefutable proof, as enacted by a republican, that conservatives still can't stop complaining. It really isn't about doing what's best or what's right, it's just about winning and spiting the President.
Pathetic....and we wonder why the U.S. is in decline and others around the world hate us!
Perry and Gingrich are crying like babies. It's time for them to accept their failures.
Not be an embarrassment to himself and stop acting like pyrite.
Pyrite: The classic "Fool's Gold".
Rick Perry has a better chance of getting a cold glass of ice water in hell than him becoming president because knowledge is a requirement and Whoops will not work as a language.
This coming from a member of the same party who nationwide is doing everything it can to impose stricter voter regulations and registrations.
Not being able to follow very straightforward procedures for filing a candidacy doesn't exactly support his claims that he could handle the presidency.
Apparently Rick and Newt both failed their course in Communtee Organizin'! Whouda thunk it was real important?
Rick Perry's complaint letter, before his lawyers cleaned it up:
Deer Ver
montginya,I ams writin to yoos becuz I ams very, very sad that you through out all of my
signacherszignutcherscursive names. It maded me mad to no that i cant loze yer state fare and skware. U will make Mister Mittens win their with out us on the ballet. So please, please lets yoors peoples votes fer uses. If you donut, I has lots of guns. Just ask the kieoatees wut happen to persons who messes with the Parry. Also i is freinds with Jesus and he sez you shood be more nicer to me becuz I is not gay. Also ther is anuther raisen, but I no member it now. Oops.Guvner Parry
(note, the above was not actually written by Rick Perry. It's a Rick Parody.)
Brilliant! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Best laugh of the thread! I first realized Perry's intellectual potential when I heard his mother call him "the smart one" the way one used to call a moron smart, because you know it'll hurt their feelings too much to point out their obvious limitations. Sorry about the non-pc reference.
I told my wife a year back that this was going to be what it is now.
My New Year's resolution is
going to stoppicking on GOP Presidential Candidates.Nope. It's too much fun!
BTW: The wind just turned around and Perry is against ALL abortions period ! He just tossed another log on his fire besides this.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9751161-transformation-perry-now-opposes-all-abortion-even-in-rape-or-incest-cases?pc=25&sp=50#discussion_nav
Isn't Perry a great proponent of state's rights? But he is suing Va. because he failed to correctly register and follow Va. laws and he feels his rights were violated? My, what a tangled web we weave.
Do you think that the average voter has more than a fifteen minute attention span?
What, rick perry who thinks the federal govt should be " inconsequential", that state's rights are supreme , that lawsuits are one of the reason's gov't is " going broke" ...this guy is suing? HYPOCRISY!
Rick - could it be that Virginia does not want you, they see what you have done for the state of Texas - nothing.
The GOP primary really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Mabe he should get some photo ID. I suspect it would be him looking back through his legs with a big grin on his face.
Amazing, Perry couldn't even get 10,000 people to sign up to just put him on the ballot. I think that alone would be a clue to Perry that he does not have a chance to become president.
Now perry is pissing and moaning about candidate and voter access to the ballot... yet he is in favor of the many voter laws passed this year by republican whiners.... odd logic once again from the right wing fringe.
Ah yes, the the typical governmental mentality: If you don't like playing by the rules, SUE, SUE, SUE!!
Yes, that is a prime example of a poor little rich boy throwing a temper tantrum. If I cant get my way, I'll sue.
The entire GOP/TP playing field has turned into a complete joke.
G
The law has never applied to Rick Perry. If it gets in his way. he pays to have it changed (obviously, this current problem shouldn't apply to him) after all he is Rick Perry.
When questioned about the executive order during a recent debate, Mr. Perry tried to sidestep his blatant disregard for the rule of law and parental rights in signing it by claiming that his goal was to "save lives." He did not, of course, admit that Toomey, his current super pac coordinator, was paid as much as $535,000 in lobbying fees by Merck to promote Gardasil between 2005 and 2010.
http://www.naturalnews.com/033571_Rick_Perry_HPV_vaccines.html