Chris Christie lacks enough signatures to get on Maine 2024 ballot

A Maine Superior Court judge on Thursday sided with the secretary of state’s office, ruling that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lacks enough signatures to be on the state’s Republican primary ballot.

According to CBS News, the Maine Secretary of State’s office declared that Christie’s campaign lacked enough signatures earlier this month, with Christie’s campaign appealing the decision.

"We appreciate that the court upheld the integrity of Maine's well-established ballot access requirements," Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a statement. "Every candidate, including presidential candidates, must follow the law to qualify for the ballot. We are glad that the court recognized that Maine law is workable and fair to all." 

Maine Director of Elections Heidi M. Peckham said earlier in December that Christie’s campaign had turned in just 844 of the minimum requirement of 2,000 certified signatures to appear on the ballot.

Candidates are required to file signatures with municipal clerks for certification before handing them in to the secretary of state’s office. 

A Christie campaign spokesperson said at the time that the campaign had gathered 6,000 signatures, arguing it was "simply a procedural issue with the way they reviewed signatures and is under appeal."

Following the ruling, a campaign spokesperson told CBS that "we disagree with the court's decision, and we are evaluating our options."

In her decision, Maine Superior Court Justice Julia M. Lipez wrote that Christie "did not separate petition forms by town, as instructed by the Secretary, or, in the alternative, give himself sufficient time to bring those multi-town signature sheets to the relevant municipalities before the November 20 deadline."

Christie could still file as a write-in candidate in Maine, and has a deadline of December 26 to do so.