There were 36 unopposed candidates in the state election last year. Two districts had all of their legislative candidates run unopposed. You deserve a choice!

Currently, Republican and Democratic candidates only have to sign up as candidates and pay the fee to appear on the Primary ballot. They have to win the primary to get on the general ballot. Because they appear on the primary ballot, they get a lot of media attention. And some voters assume that's all there is.

Independent and third party candidates have to hold a faux Nominating Convention, advertised in a state-approved newspaper, in Public Notices, which most people don't read. During this so-called convention, candidates must gather 1,000 valid signatures for all statewide offices, as well as for President and Vice-President of the United States. All other partisan offices must gather 100 valid signatures. Candidates are expected to gather these in May, at a single address (for those needing 100 signatures), or at no more than two addresses (for those gathering 1,000 signatures). In reality, this means trying to gather double the required number of signatures in order to get enough "valid" ones. Candidates are not currently allowed to gather signatures door-to-door, or at large events outside their own district, where many voters from their district may be gathered.

Those running in sparsely populated areas have a great deal of trouble finding 100 voters. Some Washington counties have less than 2,000 voters in the entire county, and large gatherings might net a total of 50 people.

After gathering these signatures, candidates are expected to have the county or state count the valid ones, and if they have enough on the right form, pay the same amount of money for a filing fee to appear only on the General Ballot.

In 2008, Independent voters and third party members will present draft legislation to the state Legislature changing the law to make it somewhat easier for alternatives to appear on the general ballot.

Here are the suggested changes:

* Do away with the state-mandated faux Nominating Conventions.

* Allow more time for signature gathering, and flexibility in where the signatures are gathered.

* Lower the number of signatures needed in Congressional, State Legislative and County races so that rural candidates can compete.

* Allow parties to prohibir candidates from using their party name without permission. (Both the Green Party and the Libertarian Party have had outsiders try to use their party name during an election. In one case, it was a Republican, and another, it was a party member who was ejected from not only his own party, but two others, for bad behavior. The worst was the convicted child molester who decided he wanted to run as a Green, and didn't need their permission to use their name. This does not prevent anyone from running as an Independent.)

* Change the petition from "Nominating Petition" to "Ballot-qualifying Petition." The candidate was already nominated either by their own party or by themselves (Independents).

* Charge candidates who can appear on only half the ballots half the filing fee.

These are all simple and logical steps to make it possible for voters to have more choices. It does not harm any candidate from any other party. And it would help us have more alternatives to the monopolies often enjoyed by incumbent legislators--which is what democracy should be.

--Linde Knighton is Co-Chair of the Progressive Party of Washington. For more information on this issue, please go to www.morevoterchoice.info.