So you want to run for president...

1992 versus 2008
Q. Is it more difficult or less difficult for an independent to get on the ballot in all 50 states than it was in 1992 when Perot ran?
A. It’s easier now in six states, said Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, a leading source of ballot expertise. Since 1992, he said, several states have reduced the number of signatures needed to get in the ballot. It is more difficult in three states, he said: Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon.

Q. Are there any states which a candidate must form a political party in order to get on the ballot?
A. According to Winger, all states now have a procedure for an independent candidate to qualify without starting a new party in that state.

But, Oliver said, in New York it would be easiest for an independent to run on the ballot line of the Independence Party and in Florida to run as the candidate of the Reform Party, both of which already have ballot access.

Q. Are there lessons that a potential independent candidate can learn from Ross Perot’s experience in 1992?
A. If the candidate were Bloomberg, then he’d need to advertise early. “He needs to raise the awareness and introduce himself to rest of the country. I don’t think Bloomberg has anywhere near the same persona as Perot did in 1992,” said Bill Hillsman, president of North Woods Advertising in Minneapolis, who devised ad campaigns for Nader in 2000 and for Democrat Ned Lamont in last year’s Senate race in Connecticut.

“One of Perot’s masterstrokes was to use the access to the ballot as a mechanism for mobilizing people,” said Walter Stone, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis and co-author of “Three's a Crowd: The Dynamic of Third Parties, Ross Perot, and Republican Resurgence.”

“He held press conferences, brought the signatures to the state capitol, and made a big show of getting his name on the ballot in different states,” said Stone. Ballot access “wasn’t just a barrier, it was an opportunity to organize, to demonstrate support. That was a brilliant strategic move.”

Bottom line: What's it gonna cost me?
Q. How much would it cost to get on the ballot in all 50 states?
A. According to Winger, a candidate would need a total of about 700,000 signatures nationwide. “If the bulk of the work were done in 2007, when paid circulators don’t have much work so they charge less, it could be done for $2.5 million.”

Q. What about the cost of TV, radio, and other advertising?
A. Hillsman estimated that it would cost more than $150 million for an advertising effort.

Hillsman said he hadn’t talked to Bloomberg. But “I'm a fan of what the mayor has accomplished in New York and we would certainly talk to them if they wanted to discuss with us,” he said.  “The choice of a running mate would be key, and we like a lot of what Chuck Hagel has been saying about the war.”

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