As of September 15, the Libertarian Party (LP) has received confirmation that the campaign of Dr. Jo Jorgensen for president and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen for vice president has met all states’ ballot access requirements, according to the LP’s chair, Joseph Bishop-Henchman. Therefore, the Libertarian ticket is now officially on the ballot in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. American voters—regardless of where they live—will see the Jorgensen-Cohen ticket on their ballots this November.
Dr. Jorgensen advocates free-market health care to bring costs way down, a foreign policy of non-intervention, and an end to the failed and destructive War on Drugs. Her campaign gives voters a viable alternative to Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who will be the only other presidential choices to appear on every ballot.
The year 2020 marks the fifth time the Libertarian Party has succeeded in placing its presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states, having done so previously in 1980, 1992, 1996, and 2016. No other alternative party in over 20 years has achieved universal ballot access in a presidential election.
The LP had already earned ballot status in 35 states plus D.C. this election, based on the party’s size or performance in past elections. In the remaining states, Libertarian candidates were forced to collect petition signatures from registered voters to be placed on ballots. Provisions vary considerably among states, but none require the nominees of the Democratic or Republican parties to petition for ballot access.
The challenge of overcoming such discriminatory ballot access laws was compounded this year as governors issued stay-at-home orders that prohibited in-person petitioning and cast it as a public health threat. Despite these obstacles, Libertarians succeeded, continuing the party’s streak of 50-state ballot access and building upon the momentum formed during Gov. Gary Johnson’s 2016 presidential candidacy.
Jorgensen and Cohen campaigned in Pennsylvania and other key states this year to aid signature-gathering efforts. Speaking to supporters outside the State Board of Elections in Annapolis, Maryland, where Libertarians submitted their final signatures, Dr. Jorgensen remarked on the importance of ballot access:
“We’ve got two big-government candidates, and they both want to increase spending, they both want to take away your decision-making power, and neither one wants to bring the troops home”, said Dr. Jorgensen. “The only way to give every American another choice is for Libertarians to be on the ballot in all fifty states.”
Author: Connor Voskuil
