The Hill News

The stress of a national presidential campaign on Rick Santorum's shoestring budget is again showing its effects, with reports Thursday that Santorum will not qualify for Washington, D.C.'s presidential ballot. Santorum further failed to file a full slate of delegates in Illinois's March 20 primary, meaning â€" as in Ohio â€" Santorum will be unable to win some of the state's delegates.

According to ABC News, Santorum's campaign never even approached the District's Board of Elections to try to qualify for the ballot â€" and the city's 16 delegates that will be up for grabs on April 3. Unlike other states like Virginia â€" where Santorum notably failed to qualify for the ballot â€" candidates in D.C. can simply pay a $10,000 fee to secure a spa! ce on the ballot. If a candidate is looking to save money, he or she can halve the fee by collecting 296 signatures â€" a paltry amount relative to other nominating contests.

In Illinois, Santorum has qualified for the statewide ballot, but his inability to file a full slate of delegates means that, at most, he can win 44 out of the 54 delegates available in the state. In that state, candidates must collect 600 signatures in each of the congressional districts; Santorum fell short in the state's 4th, 5th, 7th and 13th districts.

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