Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will most likely not be on the Indiana primary ballot on May 8, state Republicans said.

Statewide candidates need 500 signatures from each congressional district in the state — 4,500 in total — and must submit them to the Secretary of State’s office in Indianapolis by noon Friday.

Because the primary is so late, candidates may have dropped out of the race by the time election day rolls around in Indiana, but being on the ballot is still important to GOP candidates.

Santorum, who won the Iowa caucus in January by a razor-thin margin, is 24 signatures short in District 7, which makes up most of Marion County.

Pete Seat, communications director for the Indiana Republican Party, said Tuesday that Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, have the proper number of signatures to qualify them for the ballot.

Romney, however, is the only candidate to have officially been confirmed by the Indiana Elections Division and the Secretary of State as of the most recent Elections Division update Tuesday.

“As long as Gingrich and Paul file by Friday at noon, they’ll be on the ballot,”
Seat said.

The Santorum campaign has submitted a request challenging the Marion County Board of Voter Registration’s decision to reject 49 signatures, which is currently keeping Santorum off the ballot.

Republican board member Cindy Mowery said the addresses with the controversial signatures did not match addresses on voters’ registrations.

“I do not believe their submission will have any impact,” Mowery said.