An innovative on-line effort to elect a president will be on Wisconsin’s presidential ballot in November. Americans Elect will hold an on-line convention in June, to nominate candidates for president and vice-president. Gary Filip is campus organizer for the effort in Madison – and admits it’s been a challenge to explain to people. “Many people assume it’s a PAC or some sort of organization that’s going to be asking for money,” he said.
So far, some 2.5 million people have registered at the Americans Elect website, and will be able to make nominations beginning next month. Those will be narrowed down in an on-line convention in June. The plan is to get the nominees on the ballot in all fifty states. Filip said there’s only one requirement – the eventual nominees for president and vice-president MUST represent opposing viewpoints – an effort to bridge the partisan gap in Washington. Americans Elect submitted 17,000 signatures to state elections officials this week.