Nader fails to qualify for Oregan ballot.

[citizen snips]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ralph Nader failed to qualify for Oregon's presidential ballot on Monday when fewer than 1,000 people showed up at a Portland gathering to sign their names to petitions. But aides to the independent presidential candidate said he would try again.

A total of 741 people came to a Portland theater to sign the petitions — 259 fewer than those the veteran consumer advocate needed to qualify for the Oregon ballot, said state elections director John Lindback.

"Even the best basketball player doesn't get a slam-dunk every time," Nader told the crowd, acknowledging the numbers fell short.

The low turnout is a blow for Nader, who has been counting on using his traditional strong showing in Oregon to make it the first state to put him on the 2004 ballot.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-04-06-nader-oregon_x.htm

[buddy22600]

1. people are finally waking up

[citizen snips]

2. yep.

And welcome to DU buddy22600:hi:

[Westegg]

3. Nader can't get 1,000 in Oregon? That's gotta hurt.

[citizen snips]

4. Nader missed a wide open shot.

I also hope he does not make the Florida ballot.

[brainoverload]

5. Old - but great - news

There's a thread on this already.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x466796

[citizen snips]

6. Sorry I duped you.

:(

[brainoverload]

8. I'm happy that the news is staying afloat

The dupe was 2 days old - pretty hard for you to catch. I'm glad that it's still on the radar screen! Just wanted to connect to the old thread.

[sangh0]

7. Nader's running to offer voters a choice

In Oregon, the voters chose a ballgame over Nader

[MoonRiver]

9. HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!

:bounce::toast::bounce: Keep up the good work Dems. Don't let this guy destroy our country!

[Kathleen04]

10. Good, good...Does anyone have a list of the ballots he's failed to get on?

and which ones he's definately on? And, which deadlines haven't passed yet?

[citizen snips]

12. I don't know.

It is best to read the newspapers and keep watching the news to tell which ballots he is off of.

And DU will also keep us informed about what is going on.

[Kathleen04]

16. k, I'll try to do a search n/t

[Kathleen04]

17. Hey, I made a list:

Here's a list of the # of valid signatures required along with the deadlines:

Nader Ballot Access:

Alabama: 5,000 valid signatures by August 31st
Alaska: 2,878 by August 4th
Arizona: 14,694 by June 9th
Arkansas: 1,000 by August 2nd
California: 153,805 by August 6th
Colorado: No signatures required
Connecticut: 7,500 by August 1st
Delaware: 5,205 by July 15th
DC: 3,600 by August 17th
Florida: 94,000 by July 15th
Georgia: 38,567 by July 13th
Hawaii: 3,677 by September 3rd
Idaho: 5,016 by August 24th
Illinois: 25,000 by June 14th
Indiana: 29,552 by June 30th
Iowa: 1,500 from 10 counties by August 13th
Kansas: 5,000 by August 2nd
Kentucky: 5,000 by September 7th
Louisiana: No signatures required
Maine: 4,000 by August 15th
Maryland: 10,000 by August 2nd
Massachusetts: 10,000 by August 3rd
Michigan: 30,000 by July 15th; 100 from half of congressional districts; collected w/i 180 days
Minnesota: 1,710 by September 14th
Mississippi: 1,000 by September 3rd
Missouri: 10,000 by July 15th and 1 delegate from each district
Montana: 1,489 by August 18th
Nebraska: 2,500 by August 24th
Nevada: 5,015 by July 9th
New Hampshire: 3,000 by June 2nd—1,500 from each of 2 districts
New Jersey: 800 by June 8th
New Mexico: 17,958 by September 7th
New York: 15,000 by August 10th (may start collecting on July 6th)
North Carolina: 80,000 by July 6th
North Dakota: 4,000 by October 3rd
Ohio: 5,000 by August 19th
Oklahoma: 37,027 by July 15th
Oregon: 15,306 by July 2nd
Pennsylvania: 25,697 by August 2nd
Rhode Island: 1,000 by September 3rd
South Carolina: 10,000 by July 15th
South Dakota: 3,346 by August 3rd
Tennessee: 275 by August 19th
Texas: 65,000 from people who did not vote in party primary; collected between March 10 and May 10
Utah: 1,000 by September 2nd
Vermont: 1,000 by September 2nd
Virginia: 10,000 w/ 400 from each district by August 20th
Washington: 200 by July 5th
West Virginia: 12,962 by August 1st
Wisconsin: 2,000 collected between August 1st and Sept. 7th
Wyoming: 3,643 by August 23rd

:)

[no name no slogan]

11. Why all the hoopla? Is Kerry REALLY that weak?

I don't understand the obsession with a candidate who'll probably do no better than the SWP's on most ballots.

Do people honestly see Kerry being threatened by a Nader candidacy? If so, what kind of picture does that paint of Kerry: that he and the might of the DNC are nothing compared to that of an underfunded, party-less asterisk?

It simply boggles the mind.

[citizen snips]

13. Nader is weak

Because he did not make the Oregon ballot.

[Arugula Latte]

19. Well if we went only by popular vote

it wouldn't matter that much. However, in a state-by-state battle, it could.

[sandnsea]

14. No, they weren't all ready to sign

I got a report from someone who took Kerry literature to the event, hehehe, and he said alot of people came to hear Nader speak but weren't going to support his candidacy. Nader can't get on the ballot in Oregon, hehehehe.

[MrSlayer]

15. Good, screw Nader.

I hope he can't get on anywhere.

[elperromagico]

18. Interesting. Nader got 77,000+ votes in Oregon in '00,

roughly 5% of the total vote. Gore's margin of victory there was less than 1%. If he can't rouse support there, it's a good sign for Kerry in general.

[beyurslf]

20. Missing Oregon is like missing a layup with no one

guarding him. People are finally seeing the light...

[Nicholas_J]

21. And Oregon

Is one of the states that has one of the lowest requirements for signnatures to get on the ballot. A lot of states require numbers in the tens of thousands, and a few have requirements up around 95 thousand. If Nader is having this kind of problem in a state that he is most popular in, he is not going to be able to get the kind of signatures some of these other states require.

Though I have to say that I finally can find something to admire about Dean in the way that he is actively calling on Democrats and Independents to not support Nader.

In Texas ,Nader would need over 64,000 signaatures to get on the ballot, In North Carolina, over 99,000. Oklahoma has the highest requirement per capita requiring over 37,000.

In Florida,he will have to get 93,000 signatures. as an independent.

Overall Nader will need to collect 1.5 million valid signatures in 50 states, and must meet them for on different dates for different states. He must get enough signatures in Texas by May 10th, North Carolina by July 20th, and Oklahoma by June 15th.

The eight largest states by population all have very high numbers of signatures required. California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas all have some of the stiffest requirements for a candidate to get on the ballot.

In Oregon, Nader can either repeat the same process adn try to get a petition signed by 1000 people at a single meeting, or in the next three months get a total of 15,000 signatures.

In 2000, with the help of the Green party, Nader still did not make it on the ballot in 3 states, and at least half of the states.


In all likelihood, Nader will not be able to make the signnature requirements in at least half of the states and more it will be probably be cloers to 3/4ths of the states. On top of this, the filing fees that he must pay in order to even start petitioning to collect signatures to be on the ballot are also very high in most states, which means Nader's cash strapped campaign must pay up front before they can even starty attempting to collect signatures in every state and some of these states fees are prohibitive.

17 states have signature requirements as high or higher than the 15,000 signatures required in Oregon over a period of months. These staes also happen to be the states with realtively low filing fees.

By the time the Democratic convention occurs, It is likely that Nader will not be a threat to Kerry's campaign in those states that it is most critical for Kerry to win in order to be elected. One of the states that Nader is polling highest in , in which Kerry was doing well against Bush, but lately has been overtaken by Bush, Pennsylvania, has very high ballot requirements, and it is highly unlikely that Nader will meet that states requirements. In the latest poll for PA a week ago, Bush is ahead of Kerry, but two weeks ago the reverse was true. With Nader ago out of the mix, Kerry beats Bush in that state and this is also a factor in Ohio where Kerry was beating Bush until recently, but is now in a close tie.

Fortunately the most critical states for Kerry to win are states that increasingly appear to be out of Naders ballot reach.

Starting in may, through july, states that Nader will not be able to be on the ballot in will start appearing, and then the poll results will start reflecting what will actually happen in November.