According to a PEC official, none of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates have filed his nominating petition. Further, 19 legislative candidates have filed – 12 candidates for the Senate and 7 candidates for the House of Delegates – their nominating petitions.By law, all the candidates must file their nominating petitions on or before August 6, 2008.The official said that the number of nominating petition forms that PEC office has given out is more than double the number of petitions filed. However, it is expected that before August 6 most, if not all, of the petitions would have been turned in.In related news, pursuant to existing election law – RPPL No. 6-50, any individual whose name was “taken out” of the voters list in 2004 will not be eligible to vote in any future general elections unless he or she re-registers.RPPL No. 6-50 clearly states, “The Election Commission or its authorized representative shall cancel the registration of a voter who does not vote in the quadrennial general election of November 2004 or thereafter in any quadrennial general election,” and “such cancellation shall affect voter registration for national elections only and shall have no effect as to registration to vote in state elections.”According to the PEC official, the law is clearly defined and anyone who, for some reason or another, failed to vote in the 2004 general election has had his or her name crossed out from the voters registration list. Further, an individuals whose name was crossed out from the voters list is not eligible to vote in the November 2008 general election, unless he or she registers again. In addition, individuals who wish to re-register must do so 60 days before Election Day.The official further added that individuals whose registration were cancelled, when they re-register, will be registered in the same voting precinct they were originally registered in; however, an individual who wishes to be registered in a different voting district must show proof that he or she has resided in desired precinct for a minimum of 30 consecutive days.
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