The countdown to the 2024 US election is on

Applications are still open on November 5th other candidates around the White House. They have no chance of winning, but given the close race, they could cost Harris or Trump crucial votes.

Since the hurdles for a candidacy vary from state to state, in some there are only two candidates on the ballot, in others eleven. These are alongside Trump and Harris the three most important:

JILL STEIN

Jill Stein is competing for the third time. In 2012, the US Green Party politician received 0.4 percent of the vote, and in 2016 she received one percent. At the time, she was accused of stealing voters from Democrat Hillary Clinton and thus contributing to Trump’s victory.

This time, the 74-year-old actually wanted to support the philosopher Cornel West as the Green Party candidate. But West decided to run as an independent last October. Without a candidate, the party risked losing hard-won automatic access to the ballot in some states. That’s why Stein is running again and can be elected in almost 40 states.

Stein is a doctor and comes from Chicago. During the election campaign, she pointed out that her ideas had influenced President Joe Biden’s environmental policy and branded Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip as a “genocide” against the Palestinian civilian population.

CORNEL WEST

The 71-year-old black man is a well-known intellectual and activist against racism. In 2011 he was part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which campaigned for greater justice and greater control of the financial sector. West is running as a non-partisan candidate in 15 states. He denounces the country’s “moral bankruptcy,” led by a “ramshackle system of the two major parties that put profit above the people and the planet.”

CHASE OLIVER

Chase Oliver is running for the Libertarian Party, the third largest political force in the United States. In the 2020 election, the libertarians received a good one percent of the vote. In 2024, Oliver made it onto the ballot in nearly all 50 states. The 39-year-old was a former Democrat. Now he represents the goals of the Libertarian Party: the greatest possible individual freedom and as little government regulation as possible, especially in the economy. In 2022, Oliver, who describes himself as “armed and gay,” ran for Senate in the state of Georgia. With his campaign for gun ownership, the right to abortion, the legalization of cannabis and against the death penalty, he achieved a share of the vote of two percent.

OTHER CANDIDATES

Robert F. Kennedya conspiracy theorist and nephew of assassinated US President John F. Kennedy, is still on the ballot in some states despite withdrawing from the race in August and voicing his support for Trump.

Many other candidates try their luck in one or more states. One of them is the militant anti-abortion activist Randall Terry. He vows to “destroy” the Democratic Party and represents the far-right Constitution Party in a dozen states.

Stands for the Communist Party for Socialism and Liberation Claudia Dela Cruz in about 20 states. The Prohibition Party, which wants to ban alcohol, has been fielding candidates since 1872. This year she is with us Michael Wood present in a few states.