In the 2003 election a Republican nomination for the Athens City Auditor will be missing from the ballot.
Current auditor Matthew Mason incorrectly filed his petition for the position, said Kathy Kyle, director of the Athens County Board of Elections.
To be on the ballot as a member of a party for the city auditor position, the potential candidate must collect a petition containing 50 signatures of valid voters who are registered to vote in Athens City and provide a correct address, Kyle said.
Mason filed a petition with 57 signatures on it, but only 43 of them were valid, Kyle said. Therefore, Mason is not able to run as a Republican because the deadline for the party nominations was Feb. 20.
Invalid signatures often stem from incorrect addresses. It is common in a city with so many students to have this problem on petitions because addresses change often, Kyle said. But it is rare for petitions to not have enough valid signatures.
The board of elections does not suggest a certain number of signatures candidates should file to ensure qualification, she said. The number of signatures required varies depending on the position, and the candidates can file up to three times the amount of signatures required.
Ellsworth Holden, chair of the Republican Party in Athens, suggested that candidates should gather 75 signatures that probably are valid. He said Mason -
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Liz Amrhein
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Matthew Mason
