Third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr are working to beat a deadline to qualify for New Hampshire’s presidential ballot as alternatives to Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
A Nader spokesman says the campaign has gathered about 3,000 signatures of registered voters and hopes to have 6,000 by the August 6th deadline to submit them to town checklist supervisors.
The third-party presidential candidates need 3,000 certified signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Secretary of State’s office must receive the certified signatures by September 3rd.
A spokesman for Barr says the former Republican-turned-Libertarian congressman from Georgia also expects to have the necessary signatures by the deadline.
The Secretary of State’s office said Libertarian George Phillies of Worcester, Massachusetts, may be the third-party candidate closest to being certified.