Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum filed Wednesday to get on Indiana's primary ballot even though he has not been certified by local election officials.
Indiana Election Division co-director Brad King said the Santorum campaign filed Wednesday morning to get on the ballot. The Santorum team is disputing a decision by Marion County officials last week that he fell 24 signatures short of the number required.
"I don't think this is done, not by any stretch of the imagination," said Republican Sen. Mike Delph, a Santorum supporter. "We will aggressively compete for the votes, the hearts and the minds of the people of the state of Indiana."
Santorum would make it on the state ballot unless a registered voter files a challenge before Feb. 17, said King, who is the Republican co-director of the election division. The four-member election division would then have until March 1 to rule on the challenge. The primary will be held May 8.
Statewide candidates for office have to collect 500 signatures from registered voters in each of the state's nine congressional districts. Santorum managed to clear the hurdle in eight of the districts, but fell short in the 7th District.
However, the Santorum campaign contests that 49 signatures were wrongly disqualified by Marion County's Board of Voter Registration.
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