I posted this in the comments regarding Nader making the ballot out here in Arizona. I figured you all might like having it as a diary. Plus I added a poll.
Two things to REALLY look into about Nader's filing.
Are enough of the sigs VALID
All of these signatures have to be of registered voters. Rumor on the ground has it that the Nader folk out here ran an audit of the sigs they had and about 30% were not good. The Dems are just going to go through, line by line and write down EVERY SINGLE SIG that they want to challenge the validity of and then the state looks into it.
Understand, the state does not verify signatures UNLESS they are challenged. So the party has to request copies of all the petitions, do a test, and then challenge by petition number and line number.
This isn't about keeping Nader off - it is about making sure if he is on - it is legal.
At 22k if he loses around 1/3 it is still going to be CLOSE. I think Nader only needs about 14k to get on.
... the other thing is ...
How many of the sigs are Republicans
When the Dems do their audit, they probably will be databasing everyone who signed. The spread of registration is going ot be VERY interesting.
Which party do you think has the most signatures? The Reps? The Dems? The Greens? The Libs? or undeclared ....
I really do suspect that the reps will lead.
If I get my hands on the numbers ... I'll let you know.