Monday, July 16, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Dozens of would-be legislative candidates who want to be on November ballots face a deadline for turning in their petitions.

Potential petition candidates must turn in their signatures by noon Monday.

An unprecedented number of people are trying to get on the ballot as a petition candidate after being booted from primary ballots. A state Supreme Court decision in May on improperly filed paperwork caused about 250 candidates statewide to be removed from the June 12 primaries.

Becoming a petition candidate requires getting signatures from at least 5 percent of a district's registered voters.

Nearly two dozen candidates had already turned in their petitions by Monday. The state Election Commission certified the first petition candidate last Thursday, validating the signatures collected by House candidate Raye Felder of Fort Mill.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)