The Constitution Party ‘s selection of Chuck Baldwin as its 2008 presidential candidate does not automatically mean Missouri voters will have the option of voting for Baldwin in November. But the party has started the process of gaining ballot access.

Ryan Hobart with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office says Constitution Party officials have submitted the required 10,000 signatures needed to allow the party to run candidates in any of the elections being contested in Missouri this year. Those signatures are now being authenticated by local election officials throughout the state who will verify whether the names and signatures match the records on file.

The Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties are considered established and have automatic access to the ballot. Other parties wanting to gain access must collect and submit 10,000 valid signatures from throughout the state by July 28th. That’s the same deadline for an independent presidential candidate to submit 10-thousand valid signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office.

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