According to this article, Evan McMullin has told the press that he has a chance to be on the ballot in all 50 states. It appears his campaign will be filing lawsuits against early petition deadlines for independent presidential candidates.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
I hope this guy is not successful in any of his lawsuits. If he is, it will mainly be further evidence that judges are political appointments, and that candidates who portray themselves as the “real” standard bearers of establishment parties are given favorable treatment compared to candidates who are trying to build new parties.
If he succeeds in his lawsuits, it may benefit either Clinton or Trump for 2016, but backs third-party candidates in the long run.
If he sues I am wildly hoping he wins. In Great Britain, candidates for House of Commons can file as late as three weeks before the election. Back in the 1890’s, when government-printed ballots were a new idea, the filing deadlines were invariably in October of the election year.
In 2000, the U.S. filed a human rights complaint against Azerbaijan because that country’s new election law set a deadline of six months before the election for a party to get on the ballot. Yet the U.S. has many states that do the same thing!
Mr Winger, do you think Evan McMullin is full of hot air, or do you think he really does have a chance of getting on 50 ballots?
It would take federal lawsuits to get him on the ballot in all 50 states .What big names will endorse him .?It would be fun to see a major split in the Republican Party .
I’m torn on this one. On one hand, you have states like North Carolina and Oklahoma who clearly have Draconian ballot access requirements. On the other, I can’t really feel bad for him if he misses a state like Idaho or Rhode Island.
There are quite a few parties that have sued after not being on a ballot. But, has there ever been someone who has sued because they didn’t decide to run until three months prior to the election? It doesn’t sound like a winning argument.
Richard – what makes you think that if McMullin wins his federal lawsuits and gets on most or all ballots that it will set precedent and apply to future candidates who won’t have to spend tens of thousands of FRNs on lawyers to accomplish the same thing? Be careful what you wish for.
Yeah, there’s no question that Evan is pretty delusional. Maybe not as bad as Trump, but he’s quite up there.
As a registered Democrat who has been woefully looking for someone I respect and feel like I can trust (neither Hillary or Trump are either of those) I find myself very interested in Evan McMullin and want to know more about him. While I may not agree with everything he says I do believe he is running for the right reasons, and not only interested in serving our country and making it the best it can be, but he is also interested in stopping genocide and improving the world globally.
I hope he makes it on all the ballots.
John Schmitz tried the same thing in 1972. To get on all 50 and DC ballots. It didn’t work.
You can trust Evan McMullin as much as the next ex-CIA operative. If that weren’t enough, his statement about 50 state ballot access is sufficiently delusional to remove him from the ranks of the trustworthy.
Take a look at Gay Johnson. He is far and away the best candidate in terms of honesty, trustworthiness and relevant experience.
His petition already failed in New Mexico, a ton of state deadlines have passed, no he won’t be on the ballot in all the states, he’ll be lucky to make 10.
His purpose isn’t to win. It’s to give the GOP establishment someone acceptable to endorse. He has to say he can get on all ballots to make the charade seem realistic.
They’re planning to split the vote Evan/Gary/Donald, live with 4 years of Hillary, maintain control of Congress and hopefully beat her in 20.
Just my opinion of course.
Jeremy–a few more than that, maybe 15-20. But that’s all.
My prediction was based on BFA already proving they suck at petitioning.
How can I help to get him on California’s ballot?
The only hope for McMullin to get on the ballot is for Rocky De La Fuente’s lawsuit against the California law to win. McMullin would be wise to intervene in De La Fuente’s case. The petition deadline was August 12 (today) and 178,039 signatures are needed.
If his candidacy (and others) makes it so that no candidate has at least 50% of the electoral votes, then it goes to the House of Representatives (1 vote per state), which is controlled by Republicans, many of whom do not like Trump. If McMillan ends up in the top 3, they can choose him, and there’s a chance they might prefer him.