2024 Ballot in NY with only Harris and Trump the choices for President
By Dan Murphy
When New Yorkers cast their ballots on Nov. 5, 2024, they had only two presidential choices: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Biden appeared on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, while Trump appeared on the Republican and Conservative party lines.
As someone who has grown disaffected with both major political parties and someone who voted third party in both 2016 and 2020 (Libertarian), I decided to look back to see when was the last time that New Yorkers had only two choices for President.
In 2020, the Libertarian Party (Jo Jergenson) and the Green Party (Howie Hawkins), were on the Presidential ballot in New York.
In 2016, the Libertarian Party (Gary Johnson) and the Green Party (Jill Stein) appeared on the ballot.
In 2012, Johnson, Libertarian, and Stein, Green appeared on the Presidential ballot.
In 2008 and in 2004, Ralph Nader ran and was on the ballot in NY for President. Nader ran as the Populist Party candidate in 2008 and as a Green Party candidate in 2004. Bob Barr ran as the Libertarian candidate for President in 2008.
In 2000, the Green Party, (Nader) the Right to Life Party (Pat Buchanan), and the Independence Party (John Hagelin) were on the Presidential ballot in NY. Nader got 3.58%.
In 1996, Ross Perot got 8% of the vote in NY on the Independence Party line, while Nader got 1.2% on the Green Party line. Howard Philips ran as the RTL party and was also on the ballot in NY.
In 1992, Perot got 15.75% in NY as the Presidential candidate of the Independent Party.
In 1988, only the Right to Life Party, and Presidential candidate William Marra, were the third party option in NY.
In 1984, New Yorkers had only two choices for President; Walter Mondale, democrat, or Ronald Reagan, republican.
In 1980, John Anderson appeared on the ballot in NY and got 5.8% of the vote.
So why were there no third party options for the xxx New Yorkers who do not indentify with any political party in NY?
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is the reason. In 2018, Cuomo was challenged for re-election for Governor by Sex in the City actress Cynthia Nixon. The Working Families Party endorsed Nixon, but Cuomo won both the Democratic and WFP primaries. But Cuomo never forgot the political noise that the WFP and Nixon made in the summer of 2018, and in 2020, he changed the rules and raised the obstacles for minor political parties to get on the ballot and stay on the ballot.
Cuomo included the changes in the 2020 State budget. Legislators had no choice but to vote on both the budget and the ballot changes in one bill. The changes included increasing the number of votes that minor party candidate for President must get from 50,000 to 130,000 to stay on the ballot. He also tripled the number of signatures a candidate or minor party are required to get to 45,0000 in a 45 day window.
Since these changes, no third-party candidate for President has beenon the ballot in NY, despite efforts by the Green Party and the Libertarian Party to do so.
“The US has the most restrictive ballot access requirements of any electoral democracy in the world. The ballot should be available to all serious candidates. It is anti-democratic for the Democrats and Republicans to keep their competition off the ballot, especially when combined independent and third-party enrollment is 27% of the active New York electorate,” said Green Party candidate for Governor and President Howie Hawkins.
There are 3.4 Million voters in New York State who are not registered to the democrat, republican, conservative or working families parties. Those voters were forced to choose between Harris, Trump or don’t cast a vote for President.
There is no political motivation in Albany to change this. All of the state legislators are Ds or Rs. One candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., did make a concerted effort to get on the ballot for President in NY in 2024. I was hoping to cast my vote for RFK Jr., but while his name was on the ballot in several other states, he was not on the ballot in NY.
Other notable third party Presidential candidates in New York were:
George Wallace, 1968, Courage Party, 5.29%.
Henry Wallace, 1948, American Labor Party, 8.25%.
Teddy Roosevelt, National Progressive Party, 24.5%
