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While Ralph Nader is blaming
party politics for his difficulties in getting on the ballot in some states,
he is picking the wrong fight . The real source of Nader's struggle is the complex
array of laws across the nation regarding access to the presidential ballot.
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.
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