'No Labels' party says it has enough signatures for ballot access in Wisconsin
MADISON - A bipartisan group seeking to provide voters with an alternative to Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November's presidential race says it has secured enough signatures to be placed on Wisconsin's ballot.
Officials of the group known as No Labels submitted to the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday a petition indicating the group had collected more than 26,000 signatures across the state's eight congressional districts as part of an application for ballot access.
The group was created in 2010 with the goal of promoting centrism and bipartisanship and offering an alternative to the major parties' nominees. But the group recently shifted its scope to running what it calls a “unity ticket,” which it argues could break the political cycle “dominated by angry and extremist voices driven by ideology and identity politics.”
Under state law, the petition must include valid signatures of at least 10,000 Wisconsin electors, including at least 1,000 signatures of electors residing in each of at least three separate congressional districts, to be valid.
If the bipartisan panel of commissioners finds the petition to be valid, the No Labels party's candidates for president and vice president will be listed on the general election ballot in November. The party also could be listed in down-ballot races in August's partisan primary as well as the November election.
To be included on the presidential ballot, the party must submit names of their nominees no later than Sept. 3. So far, the party has failed to find candidates.
The group has been courting potential candidates with no luck. Republican former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was the latest-high profile figure to rebuff the organization’s efforts this week, following others including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.
The organization was also dealt a blow with the death of its founding chairman, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, on Wednesday.
A bipartisan group of former congressmen in November blasted the effort, saying it would only siphon votes from Biden in a doomed third-party push.
Richard Gephardt, a former Democratic majority leader, formed a PAC this year to counter third-party efforts that could help Trump.
“If these were normal times, we would have no trouble with third parties,” Gephardt told reporters in November.
“But these are not normal times,” he added, citing Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “We cannot allow the individual who really instigated that possible overthrow to get back in the White House.”
No Labels has fended off frequent criticisms from Democrats that its “unity ticket” could act as a spoiler, drawing votes away from Biden.
“There is no way to know how a No Labels ticket would affect the race, and anyone who claims otherwise is just spinning,” the group states on its website.
Molly Beck and Jessie Opoien can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'No Labels' party says it has enough signatures for Wisconsin ballot