The dastardly duopoly
[this from Ballot Access News]
MOST BALLOT CHALLENGES AGAINST MINOR PARTY AND INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN HISTORY
Eight minor party and independent presidential candidates have faced challenges to their ballot access. This is the highest number of such candidates in history.
“Challenge” means an outside individual or group initiated an administrative action or a lawsuit to keep someone off the ballot. It does not mean that the state election office itself kept a candidate off the ballot.
Generally, when challenges are mounted to a minor party or independent presidential candidate, only one such candidate is the target, or two at the most. But 2024 is very different, as this list shows:
1936: Congressman William Lemke, the Union Party candidate, was challenged in New York and Pennsylvania. Also, the Socialist Labor nominee, John W. Aiken, was challenged in New York. But no others were challenged.
1940: Earl Browder, the Communist candidate, was challenged in many states, but no others were.
1948: Henry Wallace, Progressive Party nominee and past vice president, was challenged in Illinois and Oklahoma, but no other presidential candidates were challenged.
1952: Vincent Hallinan, Progressive Party nominee, and Stuart Hamblen, Prohibition Party nominee, were challenged in Illinois.
1956: Eric Hass, Socialist Labor nominee, and Farrell Dobbs, Socialist Workers nominee, were challenged in New York.
1960: the same two candidates as in 1956 were again challenged in New York.
1968: George Wallace, an independent running under many party labels, was challenged in Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
1972: John G. Schmitz, American Party nominee, was challenged in Arkansas.
1976: Eugene McCarthy, independent candidate, was challenged in New York.
1980: John Anderson, independent, was challenged in Kentucky, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.
2004: Ralph Nader was challenged in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
2008: Bob Barr, Libertarian, was challenged in Pennsylvania.
2012: three candidates were challenged in Pennsylvania: Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, and Virgil Goode (Constitution Party). Goode was also challenged in Illinois.
2016: Darrell Castle, Constitution nominee, was challenged in Illinois.
2020: Howie Hawkins, Green nominee, was challenged in Montana, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Don Blankenship, Constitution nominee, was challenged in Illinois.
2024: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has been challenged so far in Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Chase Oliver, Libertarian, has been challenged in Illinois and Oregon. Jill Stein has been challenged in Georgia, Illinois, and Nevada. The Legal Marijuana Now Party was challenged in Minnesota even before it nominated a presidential candidate. No Labels was challenged in Arizona even before it had a candidate. Claudia De La Cruz, Socialism & Liberation, has been challenged in Georgia. Cornel West has been challenged in Georgia. Randall Terry, Constitution nominee, has been challenged in Illinois.
Thus eight groups that were or are involved in the 2024 presidential race have faced challenges. Never before had more than three candidates faced challenges.
The overwhelming number of challenges so far have been filed by Democrats.
