logo

WATCH: How Third Parties and Independents Get Ballot Access

image
Jake SimmsJake Simms
Published: 17 Oct, 2016
1 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65AZr335FWc

We over at Third Candidates took time this summer and fall to learn more about the process independent and third party candidates go through in order to be granted ballot access.

Like a lot of things in our system, ballot access is badly in need of simplification so political competition can be a little more free flowing. Just like getting on a debate stage, being on the ballot brings an air of viability to a candidate. Keeping that at arms length is an effective way to stifle competition.  

If an individual can't easily get ballot access, or a party can't provide it, ambitious, up-and-coming politicians are more likely to join the D or R parties.

Anyway, this one was a blast to produce. We visited Virginia, New Hampshire, Maine, and the Hudson valley area of New York. John learned to drive a tractor. I learned new tricks on how to eat lobster.

Our next episode will look into a reform that many readers of this site are probably aware of: Ranked Choice Voting.

Photo Credit: Shawn M. Griffiths / IVN.us

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read