The Un-united States of America

WWH – It became apparently clear to me, when I announced my candidacy for President of the United States on Facebook last week, that we were not a “United” States, but rather a “Republic” for which it stands. I guess the North didn’t really win the Civil War, which was not really a war about slavery, but a war about states’ rights. In that sense, the South won the war because we retained the dubious distinction of being a federation whose values, laws and politics, vary from member to member.

I use the word “democracy” reluctantly, because of all the democratic countries in the world, our access to getting on a national ballot is the most difficult of all. It is far easier to get on the presidential ballot in Russia than it is in the United States. It’s difficult enough to get on a ballot as a Democrat or Republican, but try to run as an Independent or a third party and it is nigh on to impossible, hindered by 50 different state laws, financial requirements, and the number of signatures of registered voters required on a petition for nomination. I feel better only by the fact that most of the public and much of the media do not understand the ballot access laws either.

The many hours I have spent researching just a few states’ requirements has almost turned my mind into a petrified forest. There is no way that I could detail the restrictive ballot access in each of the 50 states without writing a reference book. Before I become brain dead, therefore, allow me to speak in generalities.

Though Florida, of all states, requires no filing fee (a very recent change in policy,) most of the others do. If you happen to be able to run as a Democrat or a Republican, the filing fees required to be on every state’s general ballot will average out to approximately $8100. In addition to the filing fees, a candidate must submit a petition signed by registered voters. Here comes the incomprehensible part: if you are an “important” Democratic candidate, you will need to submit 26,000 signatures nationwide. If an “important” Republican, he or she needs 54,750. I cannot explain this discrepancy.

“Unimportant” Democrats need more than 112,000 signatures, while “unimportant” Republicans must submit 141,000. And guess who decides who is “important” or “unimportant?” Television newsmen and major newspaper reporters decide who someone worth covering is: the more coverage, the more important. If you can attract the right kind of attention and enough of it, then that candidate has a much easier time getting on the ballot. In fact, some states waive the petition signatures altogether if the would-be candidate is deemed “important” enough.

Is it no wonder then that so many wannabes go to extraordinary lengths to attract media attention? We see, read, and hear the gimmicks they use every day. Saying outrageous and outright lies about an issue or opponent, taking a bus tour of historic monuments, jamming with a rock band, making a huge deal about something you don’t even really believe in as long as it will endear you to the crowd of the moment… any gimmick will do as long as it will attract the attention of the media and lots of it.

For independents and third party nominees, the laws are more severe than for candidates running as Democrats or Republicans. Independent presidential candidates and third party nominees need approximately 750,000 valid signatures in order to get on the general election ballots of all states.

Ballot access laws were tightened in 1924 because Democratic and Republican politicians worried that labor might start its own party. The laws were made even more restrictive during the Cold War because the Communist Party had the means to comply with most of the previous laws and the flames of fear toward the Communist Party were fanned into a blaze by the two major parties. When George Wallace’s American Independent Party won 13% of the electorate in 1968, it shocked the establishment and to thwart the possibility of a third party ever being so successful again, the laws were made even more restrictive. The Supreme Court had to intervene by ruling that overly strict ballot access laws violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and would be held unconstitutional if the laws were so difficult that virtually no one could ever use them. This ruling, in actuality, did nothing to loosen the laws, but kept the severity of the current restrictions in place.

The Court did clarify that state ballot access laws can require candidates to obtain the signatures of 5 % of the number of registered voters. Five percent of the number of registered voters in the U.S. at this time is approximately 15,400,000. Since gathering signatures on a petition costs a minimum of $1.00 per signature, the Court’s ruling, in essence, means that it is constitutionally permissible for states to erect ballot access obstacles costing candidates over $15,400,000 to comply. I am not saying that all states take advantage of this ruling, but they may if they wish.

Until 1997, Arkansas had the most lenient laws. Virtually anyone could run for office simply by asking. Though still the least restrictive, the laws have since been made more stringent. Georgia has without a doubt the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country. Keep in mind that I have been discussing laws concerning the general election, not primaries. The requirements to get your name on a primary ballot are even more confusing and strict, depending on the state, and I cannot provide you the laws concerning third parties or independents for all 50 states because it might scramble my brain.

As for proving you are a viable candidate and can get your name on a presidential ballot in a general election, federal law requires that you file monthly financial reports on campaign spending. To get matching campaign funds from the federal government, you need to prove that you raised at least $5,000 in each of 20 states, which considering other requirements isn’t all that bad. But if you can’t comply with the rules for matching funds, you need to be wealthy enough to pay for your campaign out of your own pocket without federal assistance. Think Ross Perot.

My only conclusion is that we are not a true democracy and have never been one. If we really wanted to be the most democratic of all democracies in the world, we would have federal laws that make ballot access laws uniform throughout all 50 states. Some parameters would have to be established so we don’t have hundreds of names on a ballot. But filing fees and petition signatures must be in the realm of reason and common sense. The laws should create the possibility for a third party or an independent to be on the ballot. In this digitized age, there is no reason why we should have parties at all. There is no reason why we can’t have reasonable access to a ballot. There is no reason why we can’t have direct elections for the most competent people among us, regardless of party affiliation or no affiliation, lack of wealth or lack of corporate sponsors… you know… the ones who pull the strings and make their puppets do what they want.

The problem is systemic, like most of our other problems. Systems are difficult to change. They usually require a revolution. With the current requirements, there is no way I can run for President. There is usually a blank line on a ballot for a write-in candidate. Please feel free to write my name in that space. In the meantime, let the revolution begin!

To contact Phil or find out more: check out his website and blog For a copy of HUNGA DUNGA
Phil Polizatto – Worldwide Hippies Bureau Chief – West Coast USA, is a graduate of The School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He was a feature writer for the overseas division of UPI, a copywriter for CBS, and an award-winning corporate film producer. Mr. Polizatto is a published poet and a regular contributor to Worldwide Hippies as well as a variety of other arts and literary journals. Hunga Dunga is his first published novel. He resides in the Pacific Northwest.