Newt, Romney, Santorum, Paul On State GOP Primary Ballot

The Republican presidential primary has taken more twists and turns than Old Town Road. Mitt Romney’s been up and down so many times who could blame him for suffering from the shakes. Romney’s up, then Newt Gingrich, then Romney again and now Rick Santorum surges into contention. So this thing is going to play out for a while. Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today selected Gingrich, Romney, Santorum and Ron Paul to appear on the April 24 GOP presidential primary ballot. Connecticut has a closed primary process but new voters and independents can join the GOP ranks and vote in the primary up to one day before the big day. For details see Merrill’s news release below:

Secretary Merrill Selects Presidential Candidates for April 24th Primary Ballot

Four Republican Candidates and President Obama Qualify for the Ballot, Other Candidates Can Begin to Collect Primary Petitions

Hartford: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today joined Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola for a news conference at the State Capitol to announce the names of the presidential candidates who have qualified for the ballot in Connecticut’s presidential preference primary on April 24, 2012. Today also marks the first day that primary petitions become available for presidential candidates not selected for the ballot by Secretary Merrill, pursuant to her statutory authority under Connecticut General Statutes 9-465.

“We are getting closer to a very exciting decision for Connecticut voters–who do they want to run for President for the Republican and Democratic nomination,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “Voters will have an important choice to make when they go to the polls in April so I encourage all voters to start educating themselves about the candidates now.”

“The Republican presidential primary campaign continues to be a wide open, extremely competitive race and that means a lot will be at stake on primary day in Connecticut,” State GOP Chair Jerry Labriola said. “This is a great opportunity for our geographically small state to be a big player on the national stage and I want to encourage voters to get out and vote, go out and get registered, and make your voices heard. I look forward to the Republican National Convention in August when I will lead an energetic and excited delegation that will nominate the 2012 Republican candidate for President.”

The following Republican candidates will have their names on the ballot (order will be randomly selected in March):

• Newt Gingrich; Mitt Romney; Rick Santorum; Ron Paul;

President Barack Obama’s name was also selected as qualifying for the April 24th ballot, though there will not be a Democratic Presidential Preference Primary in Connecticut if no other candidates qualify for the ballot through the petition process.

Following today’s selection, Secretary Merrill will promptly notify each candidate by registered mail that his or her name will appear on the ballot. According to Connecticut General statutes 9-465, “A candidate’s name may be placed on a party’s primary ballot in one of two alternative ways:

(1) by the Secretary of the State, if in the Secretary’s opinion the person’s candidacy for the party’s presidential nomination is generally and seriously advocated or recognized according to reports in the national or state news media;

OR

(2) by petition signed by at least one per cent of the enrolled members of the party in the state according to the most recent active-list enrollment records on file in this office.”

The minimum signature requirement will be calculated from enrollment figures to be compiled as of November 8, 2011. (Estimated using the October 26, 2010 enrollment compilation, the approximate requirements would be 7,500 Democrats or 4,100 Republicans.) Petitions become available today, Friday Feb. 10th at noon, and must be submitted to local Registrars of Voters by March 2, 2012.

Of note: The presidential primary does not directly select actual delegates to the national party conventions. Rather, it determines the number of delegate positions allocated to each Presidential candidate, statewide and/or by Congressional District as the case may be. This apportionment of delegate seats “won” is done according to the applicable “proportional representation” formula, if any, prescribed by national party rules; or on a “winner takes all” basis if so authorized by such rules; or by the formula specified in the state law if the party rules provide neither a formula nor a winner-takes-all requirement.

The Secretary of the State tabulates the primary returns, calculates the allocation of delegate positions to candidates, and certifies the results to the national and state parties and to the candidates. The procedure for actual selection of the delegates is governed by the rules of each party—provided that the party must select and certify the correct number of delegates committed to each candidate as so determined.

Important dates in run-up to the primary:

• Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Secretary Merrill will determine the order of all candidates on the ballot by randomly drawing their names in a public ceremony.

• Thursday, April 19, 2012 is the mail-in deadline for new voters, and for unaffiliated voters, to enroll in a party for voting in its primary. For new voters, mail-in applications must be postmarked, or received by Registrar of Voters or voter registration agency, by this date. For unaffiliated voters, the mail-in application must be received (not merely postmarked) by the Registrar of Voters by this deadline.

• Monday, April 23, 2012 at noon is the in-person deadline for new and unaffiliated voters to register in a party for voting in the primary.

Polls will be open for Connecticut voters registered with a major party from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for the Presidential Preference primary. Connecticut will be part of a regional primary, as voters in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Delaware will also be heading to the polls that day. The complete calendar for the primary is attached and can be found online at www.sots.ct.gov.