It's Official: We Have The Two Worst Liked Nominees Ever

image
Published: 15 Jun, 2016
2 min read

A new poll puts Donald Trump's unfavorable rating at 70 percent. This, coupled with Hillary Clinton's disapproval rating hovering in the mid-50s equals one thing: a race to see which unpopular candidate can win.

Co-creator of the survey ABC News states that this, "cements (Clinton and Trump's) position as the two most unpopular presumptive major party nominees for president in ABC News/Washington Post polling dating to 1984."

What's to blame for this?

Party rules and party politics: rules that allowed a non-majority plurality winner (Trump) to rack up a huge lead in electoral votes in early contests, superdelegate rules that gave Clinton an overwhelming head start from the beginning, coupled with party politics that worked in almost opposite ways this election, with the Republicans fleeing from their leader's choices, while most of the rank-and-file Democrats just accepted the party crowning Clinton as their nominee.

America wants better, but time is running short.

According to Ballotpedia, the deadlines have not passed for independents to get on the ballot, but are very close. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information on these deadlines. But surveying a half-dozen of the states on Ballotpedia's list, then looking at the corresponding state's secretary of state website seemed to confirm the accuracy of their dates.

But in some states, it's going to be very hard to get on the ballot. For instance, in California, the deadline is August 12, but you need to have a petition with 178,039 verified registered voters signatures.

Most states require at least 1,000 signatures, but many require 10,000 or more.

Getting on the ballot in all 50-states would be a minor miracle if these dates are in fact correct for all 50 states: all but two have deadlines expiring in July or August.

IVP Donate

Is there really any candidate out there with enough clout to get on the ballot in all 50 states that fast?

That's the major issue, because a ground-work game is everything in campaigning -- a 10,000 signature requirement means you usually have to collect at least 20,000 signatures to ensure you have enough verifiable registered voters.

Ideally, the time to act for any independent candidate would have been months ago, but today it is a "now or never" prospect. One thing is for certain: we now have a lesser-of-two-evils election ahead of us.

You Might Also Like

Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....
30 Oct, 2025
-
1 min read
California Prop 50 gets an F
Princeton Gerrymandering Project Gives California Prop 50 an 'F'
The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....
30 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
bucking party on gerrymandering
5 Politicians Bucking Their Party on Gerrymandering
Across the country, both parties are weighing whether to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia are all in various stages of the action. Here are five politicians who have declined to support redistricting efforts promoted by their own parties....
31 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read