Former Congressman Virgil Goode will remain on the presidential ballot in Virginia, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Sept. 21 after wrapping his investigation into “irregularities” within Goode’s petition.

Earlier in September, the state Board of Elections requested Cuccinelli look into the ballot submission from Goode – who served in Congress as a Republican, Democrat and Independent – based on alleged petition fraud. Goode well surpassed the 10,000 valid signatures – including at least 400 from each of the commonwealth’s 11 congressional districts – necessary to qualify for the ballot.

Now running as a member of the Constitution Party, Goode quickly admonished the allegations, saying they were partisan-fueled efforts to keep him off the ballot. Many political pundits has expressed the notion that Goode could snag a low, but still significant, percentage of Republican voters who would otherwise vote for GOP candidate Mitt Romney.

“It’s not uncommon to find some irregularities in candidate petitions that contain thousands of signatures,” the attorney general’s office stated in a news release. “Regardless of any such irregularities, the candidate had enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Therefore, the attorney general has concluded that the State Board of Elections was correct in certifying Goode for inclusion in the Virginia ballot.”