This year, Colorado will have sixteen presidential candidates listed on its ballot, the highest number of presidential candidates on a general election in U.S. history, except that Colorado also had sixteen in 2008. However, there have been many instances when states had more candidates than that on their presidential primary ballots. This post was updated on September 15 to correct some errors.
Colorado has five qualified parties, and those parties’ nominees, of course, are on the ballot automatically. They are the Democratic, Republican, Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties.
Then there are eleven candidates who qualified by paying the $500 fee and submitting a list of presidential elector candidates. They include four parties with “socialist” or “socialism” in their name: the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Socialist Equality Party, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. The Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate in Colorado is Gloria LaRiva, because the party’s actual presidential candidate, Peta Lindsey, is under age 35.
Then there are two independent presidential candidates: Jill Reed of Wyoming, and Sheila Tittle of Virginia.
Finally, there are four other minor parties: Justice Party, running Rocky Anderson; Peace & Freedom, running Roseanne Barr; Objectivist, running Tom Stevens; American Third Position, running Merlin Miller; and America’s Party, running Tom Hoefling. Thanks to William Fenwick for the Colorado list. The Colorado deadline for independent candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, to pay their $500 was August 8.
Isn’t Tom Cary of Pennsylvania Jill Reed’s vice-presidential running mate? It wouldn’t make sense for both of them to be on the Colorado ballot as presidential candidates…
This is the way it should be
Is Rocky Anderson not on the ballot in Colorado?
Just to point out, Randall Terry is not actually on the Ballot, he is valid as a Write-In Candidate. At least, I think that is what they mean. In the Candidate list he is the only one to have a check in Write-In.
#3 No, Rocky Anderson IS on the Colorado ballot.
Here’s the full (unofficial) list:
http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Candidates/files/2012GeneralListUnofficial.pdf
Anderson is on the ballot, just not mentioned in the article above. This list also confirms that Randall Terry is an official write in candidate, so won’t be on the ballot.
SHELIA TITTLE IS A NUT CASE SHE NEVER MADE IT AS A REPUBLICAN, SHE HAS A RECORD AND HAS VISIONS FROM GOD WHILE CLEANING CAMODES. OH WELL THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY
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The Prohibition Party didn’t get on? That’s surprising.
There was still a couple of hours left to file when the state made that list, so its possible that there are a couple more people on the ballot.
So I imagine there are separate rules for the Democrats and Republican presidential candidates since I didn’t see them listed on the link above?
In Colorado there are actually 3 major parties at present, the Constitution Party is legally equal to the democratic and republican parties. Since the Democrats and Republicans have not officially nominated their candidates at their conventions yet, they are not listed at the moment.
THE DODGE FACTION WOULD NOT COOPERATE WITH THE WEBB FACTION THEREFORE NO PRONIBITION CANDIDATE. DR FELLURE TRIED VERY HARD BUT WAS STONE WALLED
RICHARD WHAT STATES COUNT WRITE IN VOTES?
I thought the issues between the two Prohibition factions were ironed out? I’m not sure why the issues between the two sides would have mattered…maybe for Electors?
Thank you very much to all the commenters who pointed out that (1) I accidentally omitted the Justice Party; (2) I erroneously said Randall Terry was on the ballot, when actually he is just a declared write-in candidate.
All states permit write-ins for president except for the five that ban all write-ins (Hawaii, Nevada, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota), and also South Carolina by statute won’t permit write-ins for president, but does for all other office in the general election. Also Arkansas claims presidential write-ins aren’t permitted, even though they permitted them in the past and the law hasn’t changed.
@7 Yeah when the CoCC had their facebook group she would post crap on there every single day promoting her run for president. Very annoying.
This will be the first election where the ballot for president is going to need a second voting booth!!
Same number of ballot qualified candidates as 2008 I believe.
#19, in 2008 there were 16 in Colorado. That was also a record, at the time.
This is the way ballot access should be…just the right amount of candidates, inclusive, and simple standards. man sometimes I wish I lived in Colorado…
#21 you are 1000% correct if this is really a free country why not allow easy access to a place on the ballot
I find it odd that Randall Terry would only file for write-in status, when all he needed to do to be on the ballot is turn in a $500 check.
“They include four parties with “socialist” or “socialism” in their name…”
It is a shame that the vote of people with the same ideology is divided at least four ways, not even counting the Green party and the Peace and Freedom party which lean more towards socialism. Just think how much people that believe in that ideology could accomplish if they consolidated their many parties.
Not sure what’s more confusing, Randall Terry filing as a write-in in Colorado (he turned in sigs/fee in West Virginia) or Jill Reed choosing to run as unaffiliated when she’s running with the Twelve Visions Party. Not sure if Reed/Cary didn’t meet some standard or what.
Terry is apparently aiming for WV/KY/NE because he can air his ads there and have them air in parts of other swingier states
Less and less excuse for the archaic voting system used in the US:
http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2012/07/26/proportional-representation-and-ethnic-voting/
(…)
But a new study of the voting patterns in 43 nations finds “the opposite of what is widely assumed”: By various measures, in countries with “P.R.,” the association between political party and ethnicity is looser than in winner-take-all systems.
(…)
Words are powerful. The word CROWDED serves the intrests of ballot access enemies. The word INCLUSIVE is much better. For me, the list could never be too long, ever.
Richard, will you be able to get a picture of this?
#28 The reason for the butterfly ballot (and other variations in other counties) in Florida in 2008 was because of the large number of candidates.
#29, all the Florida counties in 2000 had to print a general election ballot with 10 presidential candidates, but only two Florida counties made a butterfly ballot. There is no necessary connection between having ten candidates for one office, and having a butterfly ballot.
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