What Stops Political Campaigns From Forging Signatures? Not Much.

Theresa Greenfield’s campaign for Congress ended in March — not because she lost the Democratic primary in Iowa’s 3rd District, but because her campaign manager forged many voters’ signatures on the petition that put her on the ballot.

“I had dreamed of winning,” said Greenfield, who says she was unaware of the forgeries. “I never thought my own teammate would knock me off the field.”

Greenfield, a businesswoman from Des Moines, was one of the leading Democratic contenders to challenge the Republican incumbent, Rep. David Young. But instead of becoming her party’s nominee in the June primary, she joined a long list of candidates across the country who have been disqualified because some of the signatures they collected were illegitimate. In some cases, candidates and campaign workers have faced criminal charges.

Thirty-eight states require candidates to collect a certain number of signatures to get on the primary ballot, a mandate designed to weed out unserious candidates. In other states, candidates can reach the ballot by collecting signatures, paying a fee, or qualifying through a party convention. States also differ on whether candidates must collect a defined number of adult signatures, or whether they must get a certain percentage of registered voters.

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