system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why wouldn't a candidate file on time for a ballot?

I saw that Virginia only had Romney and Ron Paul on the ballot and was wondering why Gingrich and Santorum wouldn't have been able to get the 10,000 signatures to be on the ballot? How does something that important get missed?
gpt
In Virginia, not only are 10,000 signatures required to be on the ballot, but at least 400 or those signatures must be gathered in each of the state's eleven congressional districts. In addition, the people gathering the signatures all have to be residents of Virginia. So if a candidate does not have a good statewide organization it can be difficult to meet the requirements.