As described in a new Century Foundation report, "Crashing the Parties: The Problem of Ballot Access", the process an aspiring candidate must go through to get on the ballot is dramatically different from state to state. Most states require some sort of petitioning process, but the requirements regarding number of signatures, who can sign, who can collect the signatures, and what form the petitions must be in vary widely.

For example, in 2004 the number of signatures that must be collected ranges from 275 signatures in Tennessee to over 100,000 in North Carolina. Sometimes independent and third party candidates are subject to different signature requirements than Democratic and Republican candidates. Every state has a different deadline for submitting signatures. This year, that ranges from a deadline of May 24 in Texas to September 16 in Vermont. And since states constitutionally have the right to establish their own laws about who can appear on the ballot, this patchwork system of rules is likely to endure.

As a result, Nader is also engaged in court battles in a number of states. Some of these cases were instigated by Nader himself challenging the ballot access laws as violating his First Amendment rights. He has every right in the world to take his battle to the courts—whether some states have rules that are too onerous is certainly up for debate. But it's worth noting that the role of the major parties in keeping him on or off the ballot has been far less significant than the state laws themselves.

Tova Andrea Wang is a program officer and Democracy Fellow at The Century Foundation.