Jacob Stewart’s recent opinion piece, It’s too easy to start a new political party in Indiana, is an example of undemocratic thinking by the former press secretary (2024 – 2025) for the Indiana Senate Republicans.
And why shouldn’t it be easy to start a political party in Indiana? Or to run for office as an independent? Or to have access to the ballot?
If you are an established party person (Democrat or Republican), it is in your organization’s best interest to make it as difficult as possible for anyone outside of the major parties to challenge your success at the polls.
It is in democracy’s best interest to provide opportunities for people to get engaged and run for office.
Here are a few pull quotes from Jacob’s piece
“These signature gatherers often hassle customers coming out of the grocery store or those attending a fun community event.”
Isn’t it interesting that civically engaging people about elections is considered hassling people? It’s this very perspective that contributes to the abysmal civic health we have here in the United States.
Everything we do and don’t do is political. Don’t run from it. Engage with it.
“Signature requirements should be scrapped altogether in favor of a donations requirement for independents to get on the ballot.”
As a former independent candidate who gathered signatures at various events and along with walking door-to-door, talking with voters about the issues and my campaign, I did not want to accept any donations. I self-funded my campaign for under $400 and received 24% of the vote.
Self funding was the most straightforward way to establish my credibility as an independent candidate–if you don’t take people’s money, you don’t owe them any favors.
True independence. How many partied people can say that?
“Making those [donations, members in all 92 counties, track record of success] the minimum standards would obligate minor parties to build something worthwhile, connect to local voters and serve them directly. That’s better than encouraging them to waste their time and money running for a statewide office they have no chance of winning.”
Increasing the bar for ballot access will only ensure that the major parties have access. And that’s the name of the game for Democrats and Republicans. They want a monopoly over who runs for office.
I found it funny that Jacob wants to play the paternal sage and help people not exercise their right to “waste their time and money” until they have jumped through the artificial hoops that only the major parties can.
It’s easy to argue that any campaign mounted for an office is not a waste of time and money. Just look at the civic dialogue and debates it spurred. The more we deliberately choose to engage in discourse, the healthier democracy is.
So go forth independents. Run. Exercise your rights before Jacob and others try to encourage people to take them away.
Read the piece in its entirety: https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/jacob-stewart/2026/07/09/greg-ballard-lincoln-party-indiana-ballot-access-too-easy/90821783007/
And here is Archive.is access in case you don’t have a subscription to the Indy Star.
