According to Gatewaypundit, former New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has faced a setback in his bid for the presidency, as a judge affirmed a previous decision to exclude him from the ballot for Maine’s presidential primary. Despite efforts to overturn the ruling by the Maine Secretary of State, Christie’s appeal was rejected, solidifying his absence from the crucial ballot.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Secretary of State’s decision, stating that Christie failed to meet the necessary requirements for ballot inclusion. Specifically, he did not secure the required number of in-state petition signatures. To qualify for the March 5, 2024, primary election ballot in Maine, a candidate must gather 2,000 verified in-state signatures, a threshold Christie’s campaign fell short of.
Maine’s Director of Elections, Heidi M. Peckham, confirmed that Christie’s campaign submitted only 844 certified names by municipal registrars, well below the required number. Despite Christie’s legal team arguing that the signature verification process was rushed and flawed, the Kennebec County Superior Court Judge Julia Lipez sided with the Secretary of State, emphasizing Christie’s responsibility to ensure his petition met legal requirements.
While Christie’s campaign had previously claimed to have collected over 6,000 signatures, the court upheld the Secretary of State’s decision based on the submitted number. The campaign referred to the exclusion as a “procedural issue” but failed to convince the court to count the previously excluded signatures.
Despite this setback, Christie could potentially run as a write-in candidate if he files with the Secretary of State’s office by December 26, although this has not been confirmed by Christie or his team. The campaign expressed disappointment with the court’s decision and mentioned that they are evaluating other options in their pursuit of ballot access.
