01/05/12: Be careful what you wish for

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

IN 1965, Virginians had the choice of four candidates for governor, including the so-called führer of the American Nazi Party. Three years earlier, the General Assembly had declared that party an enemy of the state. How, then, did George Lincoln Rockwell manage to land a spot on the ballot?

The signature requirement at the time was 250 registered voters for statewide races and 1,000 for presidential candidates. In April 1965, an article by United Press International wire service noted that the “secretary of the Virginia Election Board said he would not certify Rockwell as a candidate until the validity of the 255 signatures on his petition had been ascertained.”

Although he fared poorly in the race — his 6,312 votes put him in last place — the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that “surprise was voiced in some quarters that Rockwell … was able to poll that many votes.”

Five years after Rockwell’s ballot appearance, the General Assembly changed signature requirements as part of an overhaul of state election laws. The requirement was increased for statewide offices — and presidential candidates — to 0.5 percent of registered voters. The 1965 gubernatorial election was the last in which four gubernatorial candidates qualified for the ballot.

By 1998, Virginia’s voter registration rolls had grown such that the 0.5 percent represented approximately 17,000 voters. That year, a bill introduced by Del. Vincent F. Callahan and approved by the General Assembly fixed the signature requirement at 10,000. The number of signatures required from each congressional district was set at 400, an increase from the previous 200.

The next year, a bill introduced by state Sen. John C. Watkins and passed by the General Assembly added sections 24.2-544 and 24.2-545 to the code, relating to presidential primaries. Today, it’s this language that is causing so much consternation.

As was true over the Christ-mas weekend, the New Year’s weekend brought more machinations by those who would like to see Virginia law changed. Four candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, including three who didn’t even bother to submit petitions, joined the suit filed by Rick Perry seeking inclusion on the 2012 primary ballot.

But it is a gubernatorial race that is at the root of some of this.

Already, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have announced their intentions to seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2013. Bolling is the state chairman of the Mitt Romney campaign. It was Romney who turned in the largest number of signatures, more than 16,000. That Romney did so well has been seen by many as a victory for Bolling.

Cuccinelli, who has not endorsed a presidential candidate , initially supported an expedited change to Virginia law to allow more candidates on the ballot, a position that prompted the judge hearing Perry’s suit to ask for a brief outlining why his office doesn’t have a conflict of interest in the case. Cuccinelli quickly backtracked from his position, saying that he would pursue a change to the law but not for the 2012 primary.

When the law gets changed — and I have no doubt that it will — it will be partially because of a gubernatorial race once again. And perhaps lowering the bar for ballot access will allow a modern-day George Lincoln Rockwell to appear on it.