Whoops! McCain fails to collect enough signatures for Indiana primary ballot [View All]

[Ichingcarpenter]

Sen. John McCain appears to be the far and away leader for the Republican presidential nomination. But the Straight Talk Express appears to have hit a speed bump in Indiana after the senator's campaign failed to collect enough signatures to get on the state's ballot for a May 4 primary. And an as the state's Republican Party and government officials fight off a challenge to McCain's placement on the ballot, the Democratic Party is accusing them of corruption.

"Despite the fact that the McCain campaign clearly failed to qualify for the ballot, Republican Attorney General Steve Carter and Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita (who recently endorsed McCain) rubberstamped it anyway, trying to sneak McCain onto the ballot. Clearly, the Republican Culture of Corruption is alive and well within the McCain campaign," said a statement released by the DNC.

In order for a candidate to be placed on the ballot in the May 6 contest, his or her campaign must supply 500 signatures in each of Indiana's congressional districts. A blogger and Democratic activist, Thomas Cook of Blue Indiana, discovered that McCain was a number of signatures short in the state's 4th District.

"This is one of the most Republican-friendly districts in one of the most Republican-friendly presidential states," Cook wrote in a Feb. 20 blog post. "And despite all of this high-level help, these guys managed to screw up one of the most basic steps that any candidate can take in the state."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Whoops_McCain_fails_to_collect_enough_0221.html