1. The author became frustrated by the lack of media coverage of third party candidates and decided to get involved with Ralph Nader's independent presidential campaign. 2. As a volunteer for Nader's campaign, the author helped gather signatures in multiple states like California, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana to help get Nader on each state's ballot. This involved long days petitioning in difficult conditions. 3. Through the experience, the author gained appreciation for third party campaigns working hard to pursue their beliefs and reform the political system, despite ballot access laws making it very difficult.

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Illya Vasquez
Politicking for Posterity: My Firsthand Experience Preserving Genuine Voter Choice
During the summer of 2008, I became increasingly frustrated by the minimal media
coverage of candidates that weren’t Democrats or Republicans. As a third-party and independent
supporter since I registered to vote at age eighteen, I felt agitated nearly every evening while
watching and reading narrow reporting on nominal pledges and platforms—cyclic, superficial
rhetoric rehashed every election year. I had taken an interest in two of the more unconventional
candidates, one from each major party, but neither received their parties’ nomination.
Consequently, I decided to look further into alternative candidates that were running for
president, a decision that led me to actively participate in preserving that basic democratic right.
I had already been aware of the possible independent presidential candidacy of Ralph
Nader by reading scant media coverage online about his exploratory committee, and I was also
aware of some of his legal accomplishments as a longtime consumer advocate and champion of
citizens’ rights. Among the most notable acts he was instrumental in passing are the Clean Air
Act, Clean Water Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), Consumer Product Safety
Act, Freedom of Information Act, and the Whistleblower Act. These career credentials combined
with his vision of re-establishing genuine representative democracy appealed to me, so I decided
to further explore his viewpoints on social and economic matters and his campaign priorities and
objectives.
When I determined that his campaign was not only a worthwhile alternative to the two
major parties but a worthwhile investment in my own time and effort, I contacted the California
coordinator of his campaign to inquire about the enormous number of volunteers they needed in
order to qualify for and appear on the state election ballot. The campaign needed to collect over
150,000 valid signatures from registered voters in only a couples of months, a requirement they
could not meet without an army of signature gatherers. I signed up for the challenge and quickly
received a crash course in petitioning from campaign staff and experienced gatherers. Afterward,
I began my foray into the inglorious enterprise of citizen activism.

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Not many citizens are aware of the draconian and undemocratic ballot access laws the
majority of states impose on third party and independent campaigns at all levels of government.
The creators and sustainers of these laws, officials from both major parties, intentionally make
them nearly insurmountable so as to force genuine reformers to expend much of their time and
resources trying to comply. If campaigns succeed in meeting the arbitrary requirements, states
subject the documents to increased scrutiny, especially gathered signatures, which are further
meticulously evaluated for accuracy and authenticity. Some states throw out entire sheets of
signatures if they deem one signature on the sheet invalid.
Further, if a third party or independent campaign manages to qualify for a state ballot and
is deemed a serious threat to either major party’s voter base or potential swing voters, the
vulnerable major party often utilizes the tactic of filing frivolous lawsuits against them to siphon
away their resources and disrupt the campaign’s focus and momentum. To overcome these
unethical obstructions to democracy, many alternative campaigns of similar ideology form
alliances for support and sustainability. This was a strategy the Ralph Nader/ Matt Gonzalez
2008 campaign eventually employed in California to bypass what was projected to be a futile
signature gathering drive there.
As an established state chapter that maintained a minimum percentage of voter turnout
annually, California’s Peace and Freedom Party had a guaranteed spot on the state ballot. Since
Nader’s goals were similar to theirs, most notably the reformation of the electoral process, he
entered himself onto their presidential nomination ballot and promised to help grow the party
nationally if they chose him as their candidate. Debate ensued within the party, especially
concerning choosing a candidate that wasn’t a bona fide member. Although he wasn’t a
proponent of all of their principles, the party accepted the fact that their mutual benefits would
outweigh their minimal differences, and Nader officially became their presidential nominee.
The signature drive ended, and with ballot access secured in California, petitioners were
asked if we could help the campaign in other states. Several ‘road tripper’ teams were traveling
the country petitioning in states with open signature gathering periods, so I joined the nearest one
in neighboring Nevada. There were two weeks left before the deadline and in spite of the team

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nearing the required 12,000+ signatures, petitioning was going to continue with a goal well past
the state threshold in order to ensure Nader’s qualification. It was a strategy that took into
account that an unknown number of signatures would inevitably be ruled invalid for a variety of
reasons, including name changes, address changes, illegible information, false information,
people weren’t actually registered voters, and people weren’t actually resident county voters.
My petitioning experience in Nevada began in Las Vegas and was far more grueling than
my first one in Fresno. With the addition of three more volunteers including myself, our road
team of twelve (not counting the local volunteers) shared three hotel rooms and two rental cars
and worked 10+ hours per day, every day in 100+ degree heat. I quickly adjusted to the routine
and pace of the team, quickly learning insights into the art of petitioning and ‘reading’ locations
to determine whether or not they were worth spending time at. We communicated constantly
with each other, relating different ‘high foot traffic’ areas to check out, places learned about
through events advertised in newspapers and on the internet.
Everyone was utilized as efficiently as possible. For example, if two people got dropped
off at a DMV entrance in the morning and it turned out to be slower than usual, one petitioner
would call to get relocated somewhere else, either at a different ‘high foot traffic’ area successful
in the past, or a new location. If someplace had two petitioners that were having sustained
success, two or three more would be relocated there to take advantage of the ‘gold mine.’
Locations were also chosen with consideration of the time of day, typically being DMVs in the
morning, shopping centers throughout the day, and entertainment venues in the evening and at
night, particularly AAA baseball games. We were mindful of ‘saturating’ locations as well,
moving on to different parts of the city frequently, then moving to other cities, including
Henderson, Reno, and Carson City.
After turning in signatures to the state elections office in Carson City, we headed to Idaho
and set up in Boise. The campaign added more petitioners to our team to replace those who
couldn’t continue petitioning, and we began working with the locals there pretty seamlessly. The
Boise experience allowed me to take part in the entire process of evaluating state ballot access
requirements and drawing up a plan to gather the needed signatures in the time frame allotted to

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do so. When we put our plan into action, I was much more aware of the overall stakes involved
and became more self-assured in my participation after honing my petitioning and logistics skills
in Nevada.
The days began to pass like clockwork, and my daily signature gathering goal had risen
to a benchmark of at least 100 per day. As a result of these long and hectic days, some of us
petitioners became accustomed to having a few beers every evening while sharing our day’s best
and worst moments. Our interactions with people were unpredictable and responses to our
requests varied widely. I’ve had people stand and carry on long conversations with me about
politics (and religion) and I’ve had people not even acknowledge me as I asked them if they were
registered voters in the county we were in. Extreme reactions were mostly rare and simple yeses
and noes were the norm. Typical exchanges played out in this manner:
“Hello [sir or ma’am], are you a registered voter in this county?”
“Yes.”
“Would you mind helping us out here, we’re trying to get an independent presidential
candidate on the ballot, so we need signatures from registered voters in order to do that. Can you
help us by signing please?”
“Which candidate?”
“Ralph Nader’s independent bid. Signatures aren’t an endorsement or anything, you
won’t receive any mail from us, we’re just jumping through the hoops required for him to appear
on the ballot so anyone who wants to vote for him, can. We’re trying to provide more voices and
choices than just the two traditional options.”
“Alright well as long as you don’t use my information for anything else.”
“Yes [sir or ma’am], these sheets go directing to the elections office in a couple of weeks,
we don’t keep them or anything on them.”
“Alright, well good luck.”
“Thank you, and thank you for your help. Have a great [morning/ day/ evening].”
The conversations I had with fellow petitioners, especially the veteran ones, really helped
my understanding of the political process and goings-on. Everyone on our team was highly

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capable, and I was impressed by their knowledge and willingness to undertake such an inglorious
endeavor. We all knew that the Nader campaign wouldn’t become an actual presidential
contender, but its existence and perseverance—our putting forth a dissenting voice—was a
necessary alternative and challenge to the two-party duopoly. Each state ballot that we succeeded
in securing the Nader campaign a spot on put more pressure on the major parties to address
matters they otherwise wouldn’t. Each state in play provided more disaffected citizens the
opportunity to voice—or vote—their dissatisfaction.
When we met and exceeded the number of signatures Idaho required, we traveled to
Montana and settled in Missoula. After being briefed on the particulars of that state’s ballot
access requirements, we organized another plan and began working as efficiently and effectively
as we had in previous states. By the end of the signature drive in Montana I was satisfied with
my contributions to the Nader campaign and the overall civic fairness I intended to help preserve
and promote. Billings was the last city I helped gather signatures in, and I returned home to
Fresno proud and grateful for my experiences that summer.
I developed a newfound appreciation for campaigns willing to invest an immense amount
of time, energy, and resources to pursue their beliefs and strive to put into practice genuine,
competitive electoral democracy. My involvement with the Nader campaign taught me a lot
about our country’s political hierarchy, the institutions in place that maintain it, and the
importance of independents’ and third parties’ advocacy and attempts to reform it despite the
burdens of the process.
Just as our capitalist economy generates innovation and a higher quality of products as
the result of competitive variety, our electoral system, representative democracy, needs to be
influenced by a variety of viewpoints to prevent stagnation, complacently, and quid pro quo
corruption. The collusion today between the two major parties virtually prohibits this from
occurring. Nonetheless, it is the duty of citizen activists to continue safeguarding this suppressed
electoral right, ensuring candidates of all political persuasions, in Nader’s words, “have a chance
to have a chance.”