Can You Keep Felons Off Election Ballots? There are Some Options - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Can You Keep Felons Off Election Ballots? There are Some Options

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -

West Virginia officials have several options if they wish to avoid a repeat of this month's primary election, when imprisoned felon Keith Judd attracted nearly 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama.
    
Judd qualified for the Democratic primary ballot after he mailed in a candidacy form and a $2,500 filing fee from Texas. He's serving a federal sentence there for making threats.
    
A number of states also require presidential candidates to gather voter signatures. Such a hurdle kept several high-profile Republican candidates off the ballot in neighboring Virginia.
    
Some states leave ballot access rules to their political parties. Others allow their chief election official to decide who is a recognized candidate.
    
But courts have ruled against attempts to deny ballot access to presidential candidates who are also felons.