(CN) — In Saratoga Springs, Utah, January Walker thinks blockchain technology could increase election transparency and government efficiency. Almost 2,000 miles east, in Independence, Kentucky, attorney Eric Deters thinks it’s time the Bluegrass State legalized marijuana.
These are but two of the hundreds running for elected office outside the United States' two-party institution, which has directed politics for most of its history. More third-party candidates are stepping up to run as voters express record dissatisfaction with current elected representatives.
“Voters are tired of what's going on in each of our states and in our country with the two-party system,” said Deters, a Republican who recently announced an independent bid for Kentucky’s 2023 gubernatorial election. “They just don't like full-time politicians.”
While his slogan of “less government, more freedom” is staunchly GOP, Deters said he differs from the state party on marijuana legalization, which he supports for adults 21 and up. Since state Attorney General Daniel Cameron received President Donald Trump’s endorsement on the Republican ticket, Deters thinks the only way to put forth a formidable challenge is from outside the party.
Over the last three decades, increasing numbers of voters left the Democratic and Republican parties, declaring themselves independents or members of other parties. Many millennial and Gen Z voters have never registered for a party.
“The time and circumstances are such to where large segments of the voters have had enough, and now is a good time as any for an independent candidate to take a shot,” Deters said.
Besides managing local political campaigns, Deters chaired the Northern Kentucky for Trump group in the 2016 primary and worked as a Trump spokesperson in the general. Even with his resume and plans to self-finance the campaign, Deters faces numerous hurdles. Just to appear on the ballot in Kentucky, he must gather 5,000 petition signatures, while party members only need two.
“Something in dire need is candidate and staff training,” said Blair Walsingham, deputy political director for the Forward Party. Founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, the Forward Party supports ranked-choice voting, nonpartisan primaries and universal basic income.
“The Republicans and Democrats in various groups do candidate training, but if you're not a part of that circle, then you don't have access to that,” Walsingham said.
Besides establishing name recognition, independent candidates must build basic brass tacks infrastructure that major party candidates take for granted, from recruiting volunteers to raising money, getting news coverage, leveraging social media and even building a website.
“There were many structural barriers, but the largest barrier was psychological,” said Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, a grassroots organization advocating for political reform bridging partisan divides. Troiano ran as an independent in 2014 to represent the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.
“People did not want to waste their vote, or worse, inadvertently cause the election of their least preferred candidate,” he recalled. “For independent candidates to be successful, they have to overcome the barrier of being viewed as viable by voters.”
To eliminate the fear of the wasted vote, Troiano supports ranked-choice voting reform. Instead of asking voters to choose one of two candidates with the winner taking all, voters would rank candidates in order of preference; whatever candidate has the lowest support is eliminated, and voters’ ballot are redistributed for their second-favorite candidate.
On top of 50 jurisdictions using ranked-choice voting nationwide, 22 legislatures considered bills that would create, expand or support the system this year.
Many would-be independents end up incorporating their causes into the established parties. After all, young progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez coexists with President Joe Biden in the Democratic universe, and the realm of Republicans includes both former President Donald Trump and Maine Senator Susan Collins, a moderate by GOP standards.