The Philadelphia Weekly has this comprehensive story about Pennsylvania ballot access. The story is especially detailed on the problem that in Pennsylvania, alone among the states, candidates whose petitions are challenged must pay as much as $100,000 if their petition is found to lack enough valid signatures.

The story couldn’t include every problem in Pennsylvania, and does not mention that in 1986, the legislature provided that only parties with registration membership of 15% of the statewide total are actually ballot-qualified. If the Pennsylvania law existed in every state, the Democratic Party would not be on the Utah ballot, and the Republican Party would not be in the ballot in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or the District of Columbia. Also the story does not mention the problem that some counties refuse to tally write-in votes.