UPDATE: Mary Norwood's Facebook page shows a photo of her filling out paper work to qualify shortly before 5 p.m. She tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution there was a "mix up" in time.

An article posted on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website says Mary Norwood has failed to qualify as an Independent candidate for the Fulton County Commission chair.

A follow up story in the AJC posted on Saturday has an interview with Norwood, who said there was a "mix up" in time in when she thought she had to file the necessary paperwork.

“This one was a mix-up in the time,” Norwood told the AJC, who said she ended up filing for candidacy around 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. Norwood called the AJC at about 10:30 p.m. Friday to explain what happened.

But she said she was going to continue campaigning and collecting signatures.

"We’re absolutely going full-speed ahead,” Norwood told the AJC. “It’s the spirit of what we’re trying to do, versus the technicalities.”

On Friday, it was apparent there was some confusion in the Norwood camp. A call to her headquarters after the Friday AJC article was posted about Norwood missing the qualifying deadling appeared to catch a spokesperson off guard.

“It’s status quo,” Nancy Davis of the Norwood campaign told the Georgia Voice Friday afternoon. “We continue to collect signatures.”

David said she had not heard the campaign was over and had not yet read the AJC story and would call back.

The story, written by political writer Jim Galloway, said Norwood had until noon Friday to qualify for the ballot to run against incumbent John Eaves, a Democrat.

Qualifying as an Independent is a two-step process, Barry Garner, director of elections for Fulton County, told the Georgia Voice Friday afternoon.

The first step is to file paperwork and pay a fee of $1,251.45. Norwood had until noon Friday to complete that step, Garner said.

"She did not show up. I don't know why," he said.

No one answered at the Fulton County election office shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday.

The second step was to collect 23,000 signatures from Fulton County residents. Norwood told Georgia Voice in a recent interview she had until July 13 to turn in the signatures; Garner confirmed that deadline.

A lawsuit filed by Norwood against Eaves claiming he was trying to block her from the ballot was dismissed yesterday in Fulton County Superior Court.

Eaves said today he was not trying to block Norwood from the ballot.