What it takes to appear on all 51 US presidential ballots, computed from each jurisdiction's actual rules. Petitioning everywhere the brute-force way demands 959,220 valid signatures — about 1.48 million collected once a third get thrown out. Playing every legal angle cuts that by more than half. A major-party nominee pays nothing.
Valid signatures required nationwide, by candidacy mode. The gap between the first two rows is pure arbitrage — forming tiny parties, borrowing existing party lines, and paying fees where states allow it.
Each tile is a jurisdiction. Hover for its rule and source. A red dot means the filing forces you to name your VP running mate.
Filing deadlines run from early March to early September — a nine-month petition marathon under 51 different rulebooks. Red-ringed dots are filings that require a named VP, which is why an independent must pick a running mate before the major parties even hold conventions.
Thirty filings demand a named, consenting running mate. Run everywhere and ID forces the pick by Mar 15 — earlier than Texas's famous May 13 deadline.
Lose a party primary first and TX, MI, SD bar you from their presidential ballots entirely. Most states' sore-loser laws spare presidential candidates; these don't.
Two figures the research could not confirm — MI's petition count and WA's petition route — appear as explicit “unverified,” never invented numbers.
Click a column header to sort. “Petition” is the brute-force independent requirement; “Cheapest route” is what a well-advised campaign would actually do.
| State | EV | Petition | Cheapest route | Est. cost | Deadline | Flags |
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