Having repeatedly postponed this fourth installment of my roundup, there's a huge backlog of Nader ballot activity to cover so I'm gonna cut the small-talk to a minimum and dive right in!
Before getting to my (hopefully) popular map of Nader's status nationwide, note that I've decided to defer coverage of four states with filing deadlines on Aug 23-31 (ID, OR, WA, WY) until next week's summary, which I'm determined to deliver on schedule for a change! =) However, the map is up-to-date as of today, Aug 26. So, moving right along..
States are counted for Nader if he's been formally certified (regardless of pending challenges marked by asterisks), if he's expected to appear on a qualified, rightwing Reform Party line (states outlined on the map), or if his campaign has filed 33.3%+ more signatures than required by ballot access law in that state. I had planned to lower this threshold until the fine states of Missouri and Maryland properly disqualified St. Ralph's petitions, which had falsely claimed just slightly below that level of valid signers.
States where petitions have been filed with less than a 1/3 margin for fraud or where uncertified petitions have been challenged are merely noted by diamonds, pending rejection. Nader is considered off the ballot if he has officially failed to meet petition requirements.
! frivolous Nader lawsuits pending |
# appropriate challenges pending |
Note that I will no longer list states in the Nader column unless he has been formally certified, with the exception of those Reform Party states where it appears certain Nader/Camejo will be able to exploit that ballot line. As developments warrant, it's very possible some states will move from their current designation to the other.
With the well-deserved humiliation of St. Ralph failing to qualify for even the alternative "open" debates he has championed now a rather distinct possibility, I've decided to introduce a new feature this week. Assuming he doesn't manage to improperly maneuver onto any ballots from which he's been duly disqualified, the following is the most Ralphie could hope for.
Current Nader Maximum |
Number of States: 37 |
Electoral Votes: 320 |
Popular Vote: 1.833% |
The maximum popular vote percentage is estimated by taking the surely remorseful 2.73% that voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 and reducing them by the number of votes received in states where he's thus far failed to qualify in 2004. The actual Nov 2 vote will almost surely be less.
So, without further ado, let's plunge right in to the state-by-state situation report breakdown!
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