Nonprofit Americans Elect uses online clicks to select best candidate for primary

North Carolina voters will have the option to elect an alternative candidate outside the traditional two-party race on the May 8 primary ballot.

Americans Elect, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, began efforts to get on the ballot in 2010 and launched its website in 2011 for delegate participation.

The organization is using the first online nomination convention to select a candidate who will compete against President Barack Obama and his Republican counterpart in the presidential elections.

Candidates must gain 1,000 votes in 10 different states — measured by online clicks — to qualify for the primary ballot.

Ileana Wachtel, the national press secretary for Americans Elect, said candidates will then go through a rigorous process before accessing the ballot.

This will culminate in an on-line convention June 3, with the candidate who collects the most votes receiving the nomination.

The organization hopes to make the ballot in all 50 states. So far it has succeeded in 27 states, including North Carolina.

Americans Elect is technically not a party and has no favored candidate, said the group’s spokeswoman Dagny Leonard.

“We’re not promoting any particular ideology; we’re providing a process where everyone has an equal voice,” she said. “It’s going to attract candidates who are willing to reach across political space and who are willing to get problems solved.”

Buddy Roemer, who pulled out of the Republican Party race and decided to run as an independent candidate, is in first place.

His campaign manager, Carlos Sierra, said Roemer’s decision to drop out was due to the lobbyist culture inherent in the political structure.

“He decided to run for the GOP one-and-a-half years ago and made a personal rule of no contributions of over $100 and no lobby money,” he said. “He was discriminated against, despite his experience and being the only guy who was a former (Louisiana) governor.”

Although Roemer is currently leading the nonpartisan race, he only has about 3,700 online votes, short of the required 10,000.

But Americans Elect remain confident their candidates can reach this number by May 8.

“People click closer to the deadline, and we’re seeing momentum,” Wachtel said.

Luke Shuffield, a Duke University student and an Americans Elect spokesman, said he thinks college voters can help bring Americans Elect to the ballot.

“Young people are a very important demographic to voting. We’re often the most passionate and active demographic,” he said.

Laurence Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University who is in third place for the Americans Elect candidacy, said the current state of politics motivated him to run.

“The economy is not functioning, we have people out of work, the health care system is driving us broke and leaving people without a plan,” he said. “You look at these major areas and it’s one failure after another.”

Ferrel Guillory, a UNC journalism professor and political expert, said while an organization like Americans Elect offers frustrated individuals a voice, it might be difficult to get elected, despite its innovative ways of attracting voters.

“Americans Elect are using the virtual, social media to organize people, which will be a fascinating experiment in political organization,” he said.

Contact the State & National Editor at state@dailytarheel.com.