But the two big parties collude to prevent smaller parties from keeping, so that we don't have that choice. Many states have laws that make it prohibitively dif

But the two big parties collude to prevent smaller parties from keeping, so that we don't have that choice. Many states have laws that make it prohibitively difficult for third parties to get on the ballot at all. In states where it doesn't look so bad, there are frequent challenges to the ballots, such that significant financial resources are necessary to defend oneself. For example: Gary Johnson won a nine-week legal war for the right to appear on Pennsylvania's ballot. His Libertarians had put in more than enough signatures, more than 20,601, to keep Johnson on. (Major-party candidates only need 2,000 signatures.) His opponents were, mostly, Republicans. And those Republicans managed to clear one other candidate off the list [1] [1] http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/10/22/third_party_candidates_and_the_great_b_s_ballot_game.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/10/22/third_party_can...