1996 Presidential Ballot Access Status

The following was originally excerpted from Ballot Access News, and has been confirmed by calls to the various state Elections offices. This document also contains updates as they arrive, special to the Web edition (not appearing in the print version).

PRESIDENTIAL STATUS UPDATES

Perot update Oct.8th: There is some confusion on the Web about the various affiliate parties which have placed Ross Perot's name on the ballot, and at least one Web site has stated that the Reform Party is only on 49 ballots (48,DC) but that Perot's name was placed on the remaining two by other parties. We'll let you know what comes of this.

Hagelin update Oct.10: The lawsuit in South Carolina was won; the party is also pursuing a lawsuit in Georgia with a court appearance scheduled for the 15th. No word yet on whether it is now too late for them to appear on the printed ballot in either state; they have missed being printed on the absentee ballots in Georgia, but waived their right to same in order to pursue their suit there.

Grassroots update Oct.12: did not make it on the ballot in Arkansas, and a faction has split off in Minnesota and has another candidate on the ballot there, John Birrenbach.

Hagelin update Oct.17: The court hearing keeps getting delayed; we'll report here when something happens.

Hagelin update Oct.18: The judge finally ruled Thursday afternoon, against the Natural Law Party (also against the U.S. Taxpayers Party, which was pursuing the same cause of action). Therefore, Dr. John Hagelin's name will not appear on the printed ballot in GA.

Arkansas update Oct.21: Two more candidates have filed for the ballot in Arkansas. They will be listed in the table below only if the information becomes available, and if their names will actually be on the printed ballots in that state. Arkansas has the easiest presidential ballot requirements in the country for independent candidates.

Arkansas update Nov.4: The two additional candidates have been identified from a sample ballot provided by election officials in AR, so they are now listed below.

Presidential Status Summary (table)

The following table summarizes the data from the September 9th 1996 issue of Ballot Access News, plus the updates above. In the case of those parties and candidates which are not on all ballots, the most optimistic numbers are used (i.e., all states which are still "possible" are counted). The table shows three important facts: (1) there are only four candidates on all ballots, (2) there are only six candidates who have a theoretical chance at more than 270 Electoral College Votes, and (3) there are only twenty-one candidates who are on even one state ballot. Not counted or shown here are any write-in candidacies. The first four lines are in order by last name; all other lines are in order by the percentage of the voting population which could theoretically vote for them. The "percentage of voters" figures are based on the actual voter turnout in the 1992 presidential elections.

See this note about tables.

Candidate Name	Ballots	Possible ECV	Possible Voters	Party Name	Notes
Harry Browne	50,DC	540	100%	Libertarian	final state certified was RI on 9/13
Bill Clinton	50,DC	540	100%	Democrat
Bob Dole	50,DC	540	100%	Republican
Ross Perot	50,DC	540	100%	Reform	final two states (NY & DE) certified on 9/17
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John Hagelin	43,DC	476	~90%	Natural Law	missed AZ, FL, IN, NH, OK, WV; lost GA 10/17; won SC
Howard Phillips	40,DC	434	80.1%	U.S. Taxpayers	missed FL, IN, MI, MT, NC, OK, WV, WY, DC; lost GA 10/17; possible AZ, MA
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Ralph Nader	23,DC	254	46.3%	Green	on in AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, IA, LA, ME, MN, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, TN, UT, VT, WA, WI; possible AZ, OH
Monica Moorehead	14	163	33.5%	Workers World	on in AR, CO, LA, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, OH, RI, UT, WA, WI
James Harris	11,DC	119	22.8%	Socialist Workers	on in AL, CO, DC, IA, MN, NJ, NY, RI, UT, VT, WA, WI
Marcia Feinland	1	54	10.7%	Peace & Freedom	CA only
Jerry White	3	43	9.5%	Socialist Equality	on in MI, MN, NJ
Charles Collins	4	36	6.5%		on in AR, CO, TN, WA
Mary Cal Hollis	5	35	6.5%	Socialist	on in AR, CO, OR, VT, WI
Earl Dodge	4	30	5.0%	Prohibition	on in AR, CO, TN, UT
Dennis Peron	3	19	3.4%	Grassroots	on in MN, VT; possible AR
Diane Templin	2	13	2.2%	American	on in CO, UT
Steve Michaels	1	11	1.9%	AIDS Cure	TN only
John Birrenbach	1	10	2.2%	Independent Grassroots	MN only
Isabell Masters	1	6	.9%	Looking Back	AR only
J.R. Forbes	1	6	.9%	America First	AR only
A. Peter Crane	1	5	.7%	Independent Party of Utah	UT only