Perot Will File Petitions Today for Texas Ballot

With a parade and a rally on the steps of the state Capitol, Ross Perot today will file twice the number of petition signatures required to gain a position on the Texas presidential ballot, his backers said Sunday.

“We are not taking chances,” said Betsy Meyerson, mother of a longtime business associate of Perot. “We are triple-checking every name.”

Texas law requires an independent candidate to file 54,275 qualified names by today to be considered for the presidential ballot.

Backers of the billionaire plan to parade through the streets of Austin and then--complete with a brass band, balloons and posters--present the petitions to the secretary of state.

“Ross will give a short speech expressing his appreciation to the volunteers who gathered the signatures,” a statement said.

Although Perot and Gov. Ann Richards are friends, Richards, a Democrat, will not be at the rally. She has endorsed the Democratic front-runner, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

Perot said in February that he would not run unless his name were placed on the ballots of all 50 states.

He has since tempered that by saying that even if some states kept him off the ballot because of overly restrictive laws or heavy spending by Republicans or Democrats, he would consider running anyway.

Thus far, Perot has qualified in Tennessee and Utah.

Political analysts have predicted that Perot might not make the ballot in as many as 17 states, including New York.

But polls show that he would be a serious challenger to Clinton, and in some states, such as in California, polls show that he could beat President Bush.

Perot, who has a personal fortune estimated to be worth between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion, has said he would spend whatever it takes to run if he got on enough ballots.