Last week, both the Green Party and the Libertarian Party handed in over 50,000 signatures to the State Board of Elections in efforts to get their presidential nominees and other candidates on the ballot - each filing was over two feet tall when stacked.
Representatives from both parties say the requirement for 25,000 signatures is unfair, since Democratic and Republican nominees need far less. Both parties aimed to gather double the amount of required signatures, since their efforts could still be challenged. That means it's not yet certain whether their candidates will be printed on ballots in Illinois.
The Green Party aims to have Jill Stein listed as a presidential nominee, Tim Curtain as comptroller nominee, and Scott Summer for US Senate. The Libertarian Party of Illinois wants Kent McMillen listed for US Senate, Claire Ball for Illinois Comptroller, and Gary Johnson for president.
NPR Illinois spoke with Vito Mastrangelo, the chair of the Illinois Green Party, about why he decided to go Green, and what he thinks needs to be changed regarding how third party candidates are included in the election process:
We also spoke with Brian Lambrecht, Chair of the DuPage County Libertarians, he also directs field operations and manages campaigns across the state for the Libertarian Party of Illinois:
