3rd party/Indie ballot access megathred

[Sorenroy]

Made a little map based on their ballot access site.

Blank = No Ballot Access
>90%R = Official Write-In
>40%R = Actively Petitioning
>40%I = Filed
>90%I = On the Ballot

To break that down into Electoral Vote Numbers:
Stein's max is 531,
Stein has the chance to be on the ballot (not a write-in) on 505,
Stein will be on the ballot (unless denied) on 414,
and Stein is already on the ballot on 334.

[Sorenroy]

Why did she miss SD? I wasn't aware that's a difficult state to get ballot access in.

Not exactly sure about the SD requirements, but from looking at the map in the past, it seems like they just fill in every state as "actively petitioning" until they file for ballot access. It could be she just hasn't submitted the SD paperwork yet.

[Sorenroy]

Original map per http://www.constitutionparty.com/get-involved/election-central/ballot-access/

So I was wondering around looking at ballot access numbers and found out that Wikipedia now lists Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party as one of the five "major" candidates. The following is a map of where he appears on the ballot:

Darrell Castle currently has his name on the ballot in 23 states worth 214 electoral votes (>90% saturation), has his name either pending or "in progress" (whatever that means) in an additional seven states worth 54 EVs (>40% saturation), is an official write-in in three states worth 58 EVs (>20% saturation), and is a pending write-in in 16 more states +DC worth 205 EVs (>0% saturation). The only state in which he currently is either not on the ballot or not working to be on the ballot is Oklahoma (>10% saturation).

Anyway, the main question I find myself asking is: "Does the fact that he has his name on the ballot or is an official write-in in states totaling 272 electoral votes make him eligible for the debates if he gets 15% in polls or not?" (Of course, the question is purely hypothetical, as the chances of him winning are far less than one in a billion.)

Sadly, I can find nothing on this through Google, and the CPD website is frustratingly vague: "...candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College..."

Anyway, I come to you, the wise men (and woman) of Atlas to ask you this: does Castle ballot good?

(PS: Even if Castle got on the ballot in the seven states he is currently contesting over, he would still be two shy of that glorious 270 number, sitting at only 268.)

(PPS: I lean toward "No", seeing as he would not appear on your state ballot if he was a write-in unless you put his name on the ballot yourself, but I thought it was at least interesting enough to post on here.)

[Sorenroy]

Made a little map based on their ballot access site.

Update:

[Sorenroy]

Good. Hopefully this will encourage the debate committee to make an exception for him if he doesn't meet the 15% threshold. Any candidate that is on the ballot in enough states that they could theoretically win the electoral college ought to be treated the same, regardless of which party nominated them.

They are. That is why the rule is "be at 15%" not "be a Democrat or Republican". Your criticism isn't that the candidates are all being treated the same (which they are), your criticism rests in the fact that the debate rules restrict third parties to the point at which they essentially do stomp down everyone but the two established choices.