Libertarians Expected to Have an Impact in Georgia

Like everybody, they're looking for something less disastrous than the usual offerings

This fall's elections create an unusual set of circumstances that is giving the Libertarian Party more optimism than usual.

Georgia has not been hospitable to third-party candidates, unlike some states like Vermont, California, Minnesota and New York. Ballot-access laws here require party nominees other than those from the Republicans and Democrats to jump through the same hoops as an independent candidate, such as submitting signatures from 5 percent of the registered voters. In some large counties, that can be 30,000 petitions and as many as 50,000 for a congressional district.