After submitting 4,000 signatures in support of Ralph Nader’s candidacy for president, local Nader supporters were confident Wednesday their efforts would pay off with a spot on Wisconsin’s ballot.
“Unless [the State Elections Board] is ridiculous, they can’t throw out half our signatures,” said Paul Heideman, Students for Nader chair, referring to the law in Wisconsin requiring a candidate to file a minimum of 2,000 signatures to appear on the ballot.
The Elections Board did not issue a ruling on the status of Nader’s filing Wednesday, said Bill Linville, Nader State Field coordinator.
While protesters may contest the signatures before Friday afternoon, the Democratic Party did not file a challenge Wednesday, Heideman said.
In light of legal challenges contesting the validity of signatures in other states, Nader accused the Democrats of trying to deny him the chance to run for president.
As the Green Party candidate in 2000, Nader garnered close to 94,000 votes in Wisconsin. Al Gore won the state by fewer than 6,000 votes that same year. Some suspect Nader’s presence drained votes from Gore. Nader, however, has repeatedly denied that he steals votes from the Democrats.
Nader, who is running as an independent this year, is receiving help from the Reform Party, which made Nader its official nominee earlier this year. Through the Reform Party, Nader will appear on several states’ ballots, including Florida’s.
According to ballot-access.org, Nader currently appears on the ballot in 25 states, 15 short of his stated goal of 40 states. In addition to Wisconsin, the Nader campaign submitted signatures in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana and New Mexico earlier this week.
But even some expected supporters of the former Green are not happy with his quest to secure a spot on ballots.
Upon Nader’s filing in Wisconsin, the environmental group Sierra Club denounced Nader’s contention that there is little difference in the policies of President George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry.
The Sierra Club urged Nader to unite Americans opposed to Bush’s environmental policies, which the group said in a statement are the worst ever in America.
