Nader ballot access

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

There as been a lot of discussion in various threads about which ballots Nader is and isn't on.  I thought it might be useful if we pooled our collective wisdoms and tried to put all this info into one thread.

Here's what I have.  I will update the list as deadlines pass and we get more information.

So far, 7 states have had their filing deadlines pass:

NO
Arizona - Nader conceded a potential court battle
Indiana - failed to collect enough signatures

PROBABLY NO
Texas - didn't file enough signatures, but sued to get on ballot (info two months old)
North Carolina...Nader actually has until 7/20 to collect signature, but he requires 100,000 and the campaign acknowledges they will probably fall short


MAYBE?
Illinois - signatures filed, but they are being challenged by Democrats
Michigan - Republicans turned in enough signatures to get him on the ballot, but Nader campaign has said they won't accept them.  Nader still trying to get on through Reform Party.
South Carolina - turned in 11,000 signatures with 10,000 valid ones required.

YES
Colorado - Nader gets on with Reform Party (or by simply paying filing fee)
Nevada - filed enough signatures

NO INFORMATION
Georgia - over 30,000 signatures required
Oklahoma - over 30,000 signatures required

Next deadlines are July 26 with New Jersey and Missouri.  Missouri requires 10,000 signatures, NJ only 800.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

According to Matt Crehan, chairman of the Reform Party of Michigan, Nader is not on the Michigan ballot (as of July 9).  He told me they are considering it.

You're right...it seems he's trying to get signatures right now (with the help of Republicans)...he needs over 30,000.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

UPDATE - Nader apparently WILL be on the ballot in Nevada....he filed more than double the number of required signatures.  I'm not sure what became of the running mate issue.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Here's an update on the situation in Michigan:

   Ralph Nader's WH '04 campaign "thought it was on track to put him" on MI's ballot as the Reform Party candidate. "But there's more than one Reform Party. And until they decide who's in charge, Nader can't be the candidate of either," says Sec/State Terri Lynn Land.
      That confusion "means that for now, Nader is out" of the WH race in MI, unless supporters, including state GOPers, gather the minimum 30K petition signatures to put Nader on the 11/04 ballot.
      Nader's name was submitted 6/25 to Land "as the official candidate of the Reform Party of Michigan." The document "was signed by John Muntz, who identified himself" as the Reform Party chair. The letter "also was signed by Eleanor Renfrew as the Reform Party secretary." But Matthew Crehan, not Muntz, is the Reform Party of Michigan chair. Muntz is chair of the Independence Party of Michigan, according to Sec/State records.
      The difference "is the Independence Party is affiliated with the Reform Party USA, which indeed has endorsed" Nader for pres. But the Reform Party of Michigan "is not aligned with the Reform Party USA. And it has not endorsed Nader." Crehan "said Nader's campaign never even asked for his party's endorsement."
      Land's decision "not to accept Nader for the ballot drew harsh words" from nat'l Reform Party USA chair Shawn O'Hara. O'Hara "said Muntz's group is the only one recognized" by the nat'l party. "And he vowed to sue 'that lily-white' Land for discriminating against Nader because of his Middle Eastern heritage, and the Hispanic lineage" of VP candidate Peter Camejo. O'Hara: "Every Arab-American in Michigan should raise their fist in anger that this discrimination is going on" (Christoff, Detroit Free Press, 7/13).

(The racial accusation at the end of this is hilarious.)

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Here's an update from The Hotline on the Michigan situation:

Sell Out?
      The MI GOP handed in 43K signatures on 7/15 to get Ralph Nader on the state ballot, but a Nader spokesperson said he still plans to get on "through the Reform Party," despite a "disagreement" over who represents the party in MI.
      It's "unclear" what Nader will do about the GOP-collected signatures putting him on the ballot as an indy candidate. Nader Spokesperson Kevin Zeese "initially" said on 7/15 the campaign would "not" accept the signatures. He later said he "wasn't sure" that was still the case if state officials wouldn't accept the Reform Party nomination.
      To get on the ballot as an indy candidate, Nader needed to submit 30K valid signatures by 4 p.m. on 7/15 (Lansing State Journal, 7/16).
      However, Naderfactor.com's Tricia Enright writes that according to the AP, Nader will "not" accept the 30K signatures from GOPers in MI. Enright: "This is really terrific news. Certainly all longtime Nader supporters and progressives will be pleased to know that Mr. Nader has decided it would be unseemly to accept the help from the same right wing Republicans who have destroyed so much of what he's worked for throughout his career. ... He should be applauded for putting his personal integrity before his political gain" (release, 7/15).

I will update the above list.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Good and bad news for Kerry.  The biggest blow is that Nader is on in Ohio, followed by Nevada and then the Midwest (Nader does well in the Midwest, it would have helped Kerry greatly if he Nader couldn't get on).

The good news is Nader missing West Virginia and New Mexico.  Nader got 3.55% in New Mexico in 2000, I think that translates into around a 1.5% boost in that state for 04.  West Virginia Nader got only 1.65%, but every little bit will help in that state.  Arizona is also good news due to Nader getting just a fraction under 3% there in 00.

Pennsylvania is the state to watch, followed by Florida, Oregon, and Michigan (in that order).

I think Nader is on in Florida via the Reform party.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I think Nader is on in Florida via the Reform party.

Possibly, but the Reform Party is in such shambles, I'm not certain. If the Reform Party had held together, Nader would have been on the SC ballot without needing to get 10,000 signatures.  I'll be extremely surprised if there are 10,000 valid signatures among the 11,000 he turned here on Thursday.

I mean the Reform party automatically gets their candidate on the ballot in FL....this is only true in five or six states.  One of them is Michigan, but Nader hasn't gotten on there yet because of a split between  the national and state reform parties in MI...one faction endorsed Nader and the other didn't.  I don't think this problem exisits in FL or the other Reform party-automatic states.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Nader has quasi-ballot access in North Carolina.  It takes 100,000 signatures for your name to be on the ballot as a petition Presidential candidate (which Nader never had a chance of getting)  but only 500 signatures to get them to count write-in votes for Nader which he did get.  Considering that some states such as South Carolina don't allow write-in votes for President, I wouldn't say that Nader has no ballot access there just very minimal access.

In most states it is easy to file as a write-in candidate.   So he probably will have his votes counted in that way in virtually all the states where he is not on the ballot.  

But I can't remember any time where a write-in candidate got any meaningful number of votes.  In 2000, all write-ins combines received 0.02% of the vote, less than 1% of Nader's total.  So I don't think his campaign will have an effect in any state where he is not actually on the ballot.