Would-be candidates win court case, still won't be on Montana ballot
HELENA — A federal judge sided with three would-be candidates who argued they didn't have enough time to gather the signatures required to qualify for Montana's special congressional election — but their names still aren't going on the ballot.
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris on Saturday ordered Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to reduce the number of voter signatures needed to place minor party and independent candidates on the ballot from 14,268 to 400.
But the judge did not extend Stapleton's March 6 deadline to turn in signatures, which means the three men who sued for ballot access — Thomas Breck of the Green Party and independents Steve Kelly and Doug Campbell — still don't qualify for the ballot.
"None of the candidates met the judge's lowered signature threshold," Stapleton spokeswoman Morgan Williams said Sunday.
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/would-be-candidates-win-court-case-still-won-t-be/article_bc18a821-9dd3-58b6-92ad-d632f7603a82.html
