Beyond voter mood, there are bureaucratic roadblocks erected by the Democratic and Republican parties to protect their incumbent status. As people who toil in the salt mines of minor-party politics can tell you, fighting for ballot access is an expensive, full-time job. “In Illinois, the Libertarian Party has to turn in 25,000 valid signatures to get our candidates on the ballot for a general election,” party Chair Nicholas Sarwark said in a conference call last week. “The Republicans and the Democrats only have to turn in a little less than 5,000.”

Source: Los Angeles Times December 16, 2018 11:15 UTC