My Alaska Mail In Ballot Has Seven Candidates For US President

 We got our mail in ballots the other day and when I opened mine I was surprised to see so many presidential candidates on the ballot.  

Ballotpedia lists six of these candidates.  James Janos, it turns out, was nominated by the Alaska Green Party.  Ballotopedia lists another Green Party candidate - someone nominated by the national Green Party.  

But since none of these candidates was invited to the presidential debates, I'll give Alaskans a bit of background on the lesser known candidates with links to more information.  

Roque De La Fuente

"De La Fuente was a 2018 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.[2][3][4] He was defeated in those states' primary elections. The United States Constitution does not establish specific residency requirements for United States senators, stipulating only that a senator must be an "inhabitant of the state for which he shall be chosen." Residency requirements vary by state."

James G. “Jesse Ventura” Janos

"James G. “Jesse Ventura” Janos – United States President – Green Party Nominee

Other:

Jesse Ventura is a former professional wrestler, actor, political commentator, bestselling author, naval veteran, television host, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003."

Jo Jorgensen

"Jo Jorgensen is the 2020 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. She was nominated at the Libertarian National Convention on May 23, 2020, becoming the first woman to lead the party's presidential ticket.[2][3] Her running mate is entrepeneur and podcaster Jeremy "Spike" Cohen.

Jorgensen framed her campaign as an alternative to Democratic and Republican policies she said created trillion-dollar deficits and led to involvement in expensive and deadly foreign wars. "Big government mandates and programs created these problems. To solve them, we need to make government smaller – much, much smaller," her campaign website said.[4]"

Brock Pierce 

"Brock Pierce is an independent candidate for president of the United States in 2020.

Pierce is an entrepreneur with experience in Blockchain technology and digital currency. He co-founded the cryptocurrency Tether. He also launched several philanthropic efforts, including the Brock Pierce Foundation and Integro Foundation.[1]"

 

Don Blankenship

"Don Blankenship – United States President – Alaska Constitution Nominee

Other:

Don Blankenship is a coal miner who rose to become CEO of Massey Energy Company. Blankenship said, 'I am running for President to let people know how dire the American situation is and what must be done to fix it. We cannot survive as a country if we do not stop the Republican and Democrat nonsense.'”

I have voted third party on occasion, knowing that my vote in Alaska would have no impact because I live in a red state.  But this year, it doesn't matter.  Every vote counts, even if it isn't reflected in the electoral college.