Third Party or Independent Candidates

There are more people running for President than the presumptive nominees of the two major parties. It is true that we have (and always have had) more than two choices. The problem is that, due to ballot access laws differing from state to state, there is no third party that is on the ballot in all 50 states (although the Libertarian Party is projected to be on the ballot in all 50 this November). Therefore a third party cadidate starts out behind right at the starting line, since he or she can receive no electoral votes in the states where his or her party does not appear on the ballot. But wait, what about write-in and independent (on the ballot, but not affiliated with a party) candidacies? According to Ballotpedia (https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_candidates) a candidate must petition each state separately in order to appear on the ballot. The rules vary from state to state; Ballotpedia estimates almost 900,000 signatures would be required nationwide to ensure appearing on the ballot in all 50 states. Another option is write-in candidacies. This is something you hear a lot about. Many major party voters, unhappy with their party's nominee, muse about voting for their preferred candidate by writing in their name. The problem with this scenario is that in seven states write-in voting for President is prohibited. You jus can't do it, so even an organizeed write-in run would start out seven states behind before the voting even starts. 35 states require some kind of paperwork be filed before the election. The remaining 8 require no paperwork for a write-in candidates votes to count. So you can see why a vote for a third party, independent or write-in candidate is often derided as a wated vote. The system is designed to exclude these other choices. 

In many states, ballot access is granted when a party polls a certain percentage of total votes cast in a state election; in Nebraska it is the gubernatorial election. Exceed the benchmark and you have a spot on tyhe ballot for your party's nominee. The problem is that you have to do this every election. Years ago the Libertarian Party was on the ballot in Nebraska, but lost that spot when they failed to maintain the minimum numbers of votes in elections for governor. They are back on the ballot again, but staying there is not guaranteed. 

For those who want more choices for President, it should be obvious that much needs to change.