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Gingrich Criticizes Virginia's Ballot Process, Vows To Push Forward

By: Elliot Francis // December 26, 2011
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Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop, Friday, Dec. 23 in Columbia, S.C. Gingrich said then that he would gather enough signatures to make the Virginia ballot, but over the weekend he failed to qualify.
(AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)
Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a campaign stop, Friday, Dec. 23 in Columbia, S.C. Gingrich said then that he would gather enough signatures to make the Virginia ballot, but over the weekend he failed to qualify.

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's campaign is criticizing the state of Virginia after he failed to get on the state's presidential primary ballot. 

After state GOP leaders announced this weekend that Gingrich's campaign failed to submit the required number of signatures for the March 6 primary, campaign director Michael Krull released a statement which read in part, "Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot."

Virginia's election board requires primary candidates to submit 10,000 signatures from registered voters including 400 from the state's 11 congressional districts. The only candidates who made the cut include Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Meanwhile, Gingrich who is registered to vote in the state, has vowed to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign despite the fact that write-in votes are not allowed in Virginia primaries.

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