GAB Certifies Candidates For 2014 Elections, Rejecting Only A Few

The Government Accountability Board (GAB) certified all the candidates who will be on the ballot for the August and November elections on Tuesday, denying access to only a handful of the 20 individuals whose nomination papers were challenged.

Most of the challenges were based on the validity of signatures on nomination petitions or the qualifications of the people circulating the petitions. For example, a circulator for Bret Hulsey’s campaign for governor was still on probation for crime he’d committed, meaning 57 signatures he gathered were invalid.

Even without those signatures, Hulsey had enough to gain ballot access. Gary George, a candidate for Congress whose nominating papers were challenged on similar grounds, also made the August ballot.

Signatures on several other candidate petitions didn’t comply with a new rule requiring both a signature and legible printed name. Rebecca Mason, an attorney representing Democratic candidates, said the rule should be changed to prevent discrimination against voters with poor penmanship.

“I know I don’t have great handwriting. I’m guessing if we went through some of the nomination papers that I signed, my name might be circled because of the way I signed it,” said Mason.

GAB chairman Judge Thomas Barland urged the board to come up with a clear definition of what a printed name is before the next election.

In some cases this year, names that were written clearly in cursive handwriting were rejected because they technically weren’t printed. Barland said that fortunately, none of those invalidated signatures resulted in any candidate being denied ballot access. Nevertheless, he said that he’s worried the rule could lead to problems in future elections.