How hard will getting on 51 ballots be for Nader?
I asked Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, for his assessment of Nader's task in getting on the ballot in 51 jurisdictions. Here is his answer:
The big media tend to think it's harder to get on the ballot, than it really is. A Libertarian presidential candidate appeared on all 51 ballots in 2000, 1996 and 1992. And Libertarians never received any form of federal election funding.
I have seen Reform Party e-mails today, which suggest that many Reform Party people are enthusiastic about Nader. If Nader can motivate volunteers to carry out petitioning, I don't think he will have any particular trouble. Since he won't pay people to petition, though, if he doesn't have a devoted core of volunteers, he is in trouble.
Still to be ascertained is whether various state Green Parties will put him on the ballot. Also, the Natural Law Party is on in eleven states, including California, and it might nominate him. It seems very likely that the New York Independence Party will nominate him. The Peace & Freedom Party of California might nominate him. The Mountain Party of West Virginia seems likely to nominate him.