Getting yourself on the ballot is rather simple. 1. Get the forms. 2. Fill out the forms and file them. Two steps. Or you can download a 58 page booklet that will probably discourage people from getting on the ballot. (Here). Why do 2 simple steps need a 58 page booklet? Because the politicians would lose their power if you get yourself on the ballot and win. Information about “How To Get On The Ballot” is purposely kept from the people because almost no one in power wants to create competition against themselves. The opponents don’t want to help the candidate by splitting the party vote because they may face a better opponent and lose. The candidates don’t want more people on the ballot for the same reason. The candidate could lose. Those reasons are why neither of the two parties want people to get themselves on the ballot. They withold information or in the case of The Committee of 70, the information is presented as 58 dense pages instead of a simple two step process. The Committee of 70’s dense booklet is one of the best booklets about getting yourself on the ballot and its available on-line from Philadelphia’s Committee of Seventy. “How To Run For Political Office” (Here). But it is 58 pages with some long lists of legal case law and statutes that will put an energy drinker to sleep.
So follow the two step method. 1. Get The Forms for all offices at either the County Board of Elections or the Department of State. 2. Fill out the forms and file them. That means getting signatures from the people either locally, state wide or nationally. Check out the Committee of 70’s booklet too. It has some good information but remember the two simple steps and look for the additional info in the booklet. Some offices need only 10 signatures; some 15 and most several hundred. The place where you get the forms is also the place where the forms are taken to get on the ballot (filed) but the clerks will not try to help more than they need to because the parties appoint many of them. The clerks are the people who staff government positions and the parties don’t want competition. But the local and state offices are where to start and where to file. They can and will advise you how many signatures you need but they may try to trick you. To avoid being victimized can be difficult because the parties don’t want competition and they have millions of workers who will try to trick the competition. Politics, like the law is full of tricks.
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