Third Party Watch

The Burlington (N.C.) Times News reports to its readers that they will have alternatives to the Republicans and Democrats in November:

In addition to Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, Libertarian Bob Barr’s name will be on the North Carolina presidential ballot.

Three other candidates who won’t be on the ballot qualified as write-in presidential candidates: independent Ralph Nader, Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney, and Socialist Party candidate Brian Moore.

How does one qualify as a write-in candidate in the Tarheel state?

A candidate had to collect valid signatures of 250 registered voters to qualify as a write-in candidate for president and statewide office, said Johnnie McLean, deputy director of the State Board of Elections. While their names won’t be on the ballot, a write-in space will be available on the ballot or voting machine and local boards of elections will be instructed to record and report such votes, she said.

The article also notes that the Libertarians have another stake in the election:

Libertarians aren’t expecting to win the presidential race. Nor are they expecting their gubernatorial candidate Mike Munger, who chairs the Political Science Department at Duke University, to win. But they’re hoping he’ll get at least 2 percent of the vote.

That’s the threshold that a party’s gubernatorial or presidential candidate has to receive in the general election in order to remain a recognized party in the state….

If some current poll numbers hold up through the general election, Libertarians could be successful in their effort to remain on the ballot. The Public Policy Polling survey shows Munger with support from 6 percent of the voters. The Civitas Poll shows Munger with 2 percent.

This entry was posted by TPW News Items on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 7:01 am and is filed under News, Campaign 2008, Libertarian Party, Green Party, Socialist Party(ies), Independent Candidate, Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, Presidential Race, State Races, Bob Barr. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.