Signature gatherers try to hide Nader’s name on petitions

One of the men told at least two people, including a Gazette reporter, that the petitions were not for Nader. But Nader supporters were gathering signatures outside a Dunbar Kroger store on Sunday, and one woman at the West Side Kroger said she saw the petitions, and they were for Nader.

Helen Lanham said one of the men asked her if she was a registered voter and whether she would sign a petition to “get a minority on the ballot.” She asked who it was, and they “hemmed and hawed” and wouldn’t tell her.

They had the name of the candidate covered up with a pencil on the petition, Lanham said. She said she moved the pencil aside and saw it was for Nader.

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One of the men, who had a large clipboard full of petitions, refused to tell a Gazette reporter who the signatures were for, but denied they were for Nader. He then asked if the Gazette was distributed “across Virginia.”

“My coordinator said I shouldn’t say any more until I talk to him,” the man said. When asked whether he could put the reporter in contact with the coordinator, the man said he would go to his car and check with his partner. Instead, they drove away.

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