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| The US election: it's not just a two-horse race | The US election: it's not just a two-horse race |
| (6 days later) | |
| If you've been wondering what comedian Roseanne Barr is up to these days, we have your answer: she's running for president. No, really. Roseanne is the official presidential nominee for The Peace and Freedom Party, which in the past has fielded such candidates as Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver and baby care expert Dr Benjamin Spock. She is running on a platform that promises to legalise marijuana and forgive student loan debt, among other things. | If you've been wondering what comedian Roseanne Barr is up to these days, we have your answer: she's running for president. No, really. Roseanne is the official presidential nominee for The Peace and Freedom Party, which in the past has fielded such candidates as Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver and baby care expert Dr Benjamin Spock. She is running on a platform that promises to legalise marijuana and forgive student loan debt, among other things. |
| If news of her campaign passed you by, don't feel bad. Roseanne is only on the ballot in three states: California, Colorado and Florida. She is also a registered "write-in" candidate in 20 more states, meaning you can scribble in her name even though she's not listed on the ballot. This provision is available in many states. The first time I voted I wrote myself in as a candidate for high bailiff of Addison County, Vermont (the Republican incumbent was running unopposed). I didn't win, so I never had to find out what a high bailiff is. | If news of her campaign passed you by, don't feel bad. Roseanne is only on the ballot in three states: California, Colorado and Florida. She is also a registered "write-in" candidate in 20 more states, meaning you can scribble in her name even though she's not listed on the ballot. This provision is available in many states. The first time I voted I wrote myself in as a candidate for high bailiff of Addison County, Vermont (the Republican incumbent was running unopposed). I didn't win, so I never had to find out what a high bailiff is. |
| The main reason why there aren't more alternative, protest, single-issue, leftfield or downright frivolous presidential candidates is the difficulty of getting on the ballot in all 50 states. Each state has its own procedures for ballot access, ranging from "lax" to "obstructionist". Colorado is among the easiest: besides Roseanne, there are 15 other presidential candidates listed on this year's ballot. In Louisiana, you can get on by paying $500 or collecting 5,000 signatures – your choice. Other states ask for signatures equivalent to a certain percentage of the total vote in the last election – this year Georgia required 51,845. | The main reason why there aren't more alternative, protest, single-issue, leftfield or downright frivolous presidential candidates is the difficulty of getting on the ballot in all 50 states. Each state has its own procedures for ballot access, ranging from "lax" to "obstructionist". Colorado is among the easiest: besides Roseanne, there are 15 other presidential candidates listed on this year's ballot. In Louisiana, you can get on by paying $500 or collecting 5,000 signatures – your choice. Other states ask for signatures equivalent to a certain percentage of the total vote in the last election – this year Georgia required 51,845. |
| In the upcoming election only five "third" parties have ballot access equivalent to 270 electoral college votes – that is, they're on the ballot in enough states to have at least a theoretical chance of winning. One is the Green party, whose candidate, Jill Stein, beat Roseanne to win the nomination. Another party, called Americans Elect, is fielding no candidates because nobody reached their own minimum requirement of 1,000 online votes. | In the upcoming election only five "third" parties have ballot access equivalent to 270 electoral college votes – that is, they're on the ballot in enough states to have at least a theoretical chance of winning. One is the Green party, whose candidate, Jill Stein, beat Roseanne to win the nomination. Another party, called Americans Elect, is fielding no candidates because nobody reached their own minimum requirement of 1,000 online votes. |
| Below the 270-line are various socialist factions and America's oldest third party, the Prohibition party, founded in 1869. Its temperance message doesn't have as much traction as it used to: in the 2008 presidential election its candidate received 643 votes nationwide. There is also an Objectivist party, which promotes a philosophical system developed by novelist Ayn Rand. | Below the 270-line are various socialist factions and America's oldest third party, the Prohibition party, founded in 1869. Its temperance message doesn't have as much traction as it used to: in the 2008 presidential election its candidate received 643 votes nationwide. There is also an Objectivist party, which promotes a philosophical system developed by novelist Ayn Rand. |
| Individual write-in candidates rarely get anywhere, although there are notable exceptions at the congressional and state level. In 1998, Charlotte Burks was elected to the Tennessee state senate on write-in votes after her husband, the official candidate, was murdered by his Republican opponent. | Individual write-in candidates rarely get anywhere, although there are notable exceptions at the congressional and state level. In 1998, Charlotte Burks was elected to the Tennessee state senate on write-in votes after her husband, the official candidate, was murdered by his Republican opponent. |
| In 1980, rock singer Joe Walsh ran a write-in presidential campaign, on a platform promising "Free Gas For Everyone". It's just as well he didn't win – he was 33 at the time, and therefore not legally old enough to be president. | In 1980, rock singer Joe Walsh ran a write-in presidential campaign, on a platform promising "Free Gas For Everyone". It's just as well he didn't win – he was 33 at the time, and therefore not legally old enough to be president. |
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