Group Clears Path for a Third-Party Ticket
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
NYT
To those who bemoan the lack of better choices in presidential elections, third-party fantasies come easily at this stage in a campaign.
Those dreams are even more vivid than usual this time around, and not just because polls show striking levels of discontent within both parties about politics as usual.
The most immediate practical impediment to independent and third-party bids has always been the difficulty of getting on the ballot in all 50 states, a complex process that requires substantial time, money and organization. Ross Perot managed it in 1992 and got almost 19 percent of the popular vote despite dropping out at one point; Ralph Nader was on 44 state ballots in 2000, including, fatefully, Florida, where the election was decided in George W. Bush’s favor by 537 votes.
In 2012, courtesy of a group called Americans Elect, some lucky independent candidate will have the chance to enter the race all but guaranteed nationwide ballot access. And as that fact — or threat — has begun to dawn on the Democratic and Republican establishments, it is setting off new chatter about the prospect for a high-profile unity ticket, or at least about someone emerging to play the role of national gadfly and potential spoiler for one party or the other.
“I think what is clear is they’ll be on the ballot in most of these states, and it’s going to be something we have to deal with,” Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager, said of Americans Elect at a briefing this week on the White House’s re-election strategy.
(More here.)
NYT
To those who bemoan the lack of better choices in presidential elections, third-party fantasies come easily at this stage in a campaign.
Those dreams are even more vivid than usual this time around, and not just because polls show striking levels of discontent within both parties about politics as usual.
The most immediate practical impediment to independent and third-party bids has always been the difficulty of getting on the ballot in all 50 states, a complex process that requires substantial time, money and organization. Ross Perot managed it in 1992 and got almost 19 percent of the popular vote despite dropping out at one point; Ralph Nader was on 44 state ballots in 2000, including, fatefully, Florida, where the election was decided in George W. Bush’s favor by 537 votes.
In 2012, courtesy of a group called Americans Elect, some lucky independent candidate will have the chance to enter the race all but guaranteed nationwide ballot access. And as that fact — or threat — has begun to dawn on the Democratic and Republican establishments, it is setting off new chatter about the prospect for a high-profile unity ticket, or at least about someone emerging to play the role of national gadfly and potential spoiler for one party or the other.
“I think what is clear is they’ll be on the ballot in most of these states, and it’s going to be something we have to deal with,” Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager, said of Americans Elect at a briefing this week on the White House’s re-election strategy.
(More here.)
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