Independents could influence governor's race - if they can get on the ballot

More independents nationally going uphill for ballot access

04/24/2006
By JULIA SILVERMAN / Associated Press
As gubernatorial races across the country heat up, a handful of independent candidates have emerged nationally who could influence tight races, be it as spoilers or as long-shot victors.
But in order to do so in November, such candidates — who have popped up in Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine and Alaska — first need to get on the ballot.
And in some states that's far easier said than done, thanks to often-byzantine requirements about who can, and cannot, sign petitions.
Such rules, tightened in some cases since the combative 2004 presidential election cycle, are viewed by independents as a key way the major parties keep outsiders from winning higher office, even as the number of unaffiliated voters balloons nationwide. ....