From Ballot Access News:
This Birmingham News story about Gary Johnson’s April 7 visit to Alabama manages to educate readers about Alabama’s unfriendly ballot access laws. The story is also interesting because the reporter concludes, after hearing Johnson speak, that he is running again in 2016.
From the article cited, written by Brendan Kirby:
The party remains a longshot in most races, however – particularly in Alabama, which has some of the most restrictive laws in the country when it comes to getting on the ballot as a third-party candidate. Johnson said in an interview that Alabama was one of two states where he appeared on the ballot without the Libertarian Party label in 2012 because the state requires fewer signatures from independent candidates.
Alabama state Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, has introduced a bill several years in a row to loosen those rules. But the legislation has gone nowhere.
In an interview, Johnson said there is no hypocrisy in his stance. As New Mexico governor, he said he signed a law that made it easier for third-party candidates to run.
Leigh LaChine, the chairman of the Alabama Libertarian Party, said the party has qualified for ballot access in Jefferson County for this November’s election and will work for getting on the ballot statewide by 2016.
Our America Initiative, the group where Johnson serves as honorary chairman, has filed a lawsuit in Washington against the Commission on Presidential Debates in an attempt to force more inclusion in debates before the presidential election. He said a fair criterion would be to allow any candidate who appears on the ballot in enough states to mathematically able to be elected president. In 2012, four candidates met that hurdle – President Barack Obama, Republican Mitt Romney, Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.