AP

FILE: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is backing off a push to change his state's election rules before the March 6 presidential primary, after only two Republican candidates qualified for the ballot. 

The attorney general on Saturday had said he wanted to overhaul the process before the primary, calling the state's system "deficient." Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry were locked out of the Virginia ballot after failing to meet the state's signature requirement, while three other candidates did not even try to meet the requirement. 

But by late Sunday, Cuccinelli had abandoned plans to file emergency legislation to address the matter, saying it wouldn't be fair to the two candidates -- Mitt Romney and Ron Paul -- who did qualify by submitting at least 10,000 valid petition signatures.