Donald K. Allen for President

Top of the Week

Monday, February 11, 2008

Many people point out that our two-party political system works. That’s true. It works very well for the two parties’ politicians, but not so much for the rest of us. Anyone running for president must first convince their party’s powerful elite that they can win. Sometimes it’s their accomplishments in Congress or as a governor. Sometimes it’s a combination of charisma, looks, and charm. Regardless, they can’t do it on their own. They HAVE to have the party’s backing, and then they OWE the party big time if they win.

I didn’t take that path. I didn’t want to sell out government jobs and positions, ambassadorships and Cabinet posts to those whose party connections warranted them. Nor did I want to be more obligated to the party powerful than to the people of our country. The Presidency belongs to we the people, but the Republican and Democratic Parties believe it belongs to them.

In many of our states the two-party system has made it very difficult for an independent candidate to get on the ballot. Twenty-seven states require 5,000 signatures or less for ballot access. On the other hand, California requires 158,372 signatures, the highest of all. Other states that have stiff requirements are Florida — 104,334; Texas — 74,108; North Carolina — 69,734; and Georgia — 42,489 signatures. My home states of Ohio and Illinois require 5,000 and 25,000, respectively. The complete list of states’ requirements is available at www.ballot-access.org. Some states add to the challenge by only allowing a window of a couple months to get the signatures, and they recommend getting 20 percent more to allow for invalid signatures and people who move.

How am I going to do it? Well, I’ll need all the help I can get. It will take small focus groups in each state to gather signatures, and I plan to visit every state this year to help the groups and get media attention. Thus far I’ve had several appearances on the Louie Free Show here in Youngstown, OH, an interview by Joe Lahr of MCAM-TV in New Hampshire, and I called the Tom Sullivan Show on Fox Sirius radio. After Tom Sullivan there were 20,000 hits on my campaign website in the next 24 hours. Next I had an interview on Robert J. Henson’s The Big Show from West Chester, PA. A Canadian streaming radio show, Something Cool News, has also called me several times with discussions lasting up to an hour.

Even though the challenge is great, I’m confident that every signature will mean a vote, and this election will be about the people and not the money raised. We are all hoping to see the economy turn around, and I sincerely believe the Fair Tax Bill will open that door for all of us, including small businesses and large corporations. The change will be far-reaching and will positively benefit all Americans.