Liberty Blog
ABINGTON, PA - Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania Governor Ken Krawchuk announced in a campaign livestream Wednesday that he is launching a $10,000 money bomb to allow his campaign to petition for ballot access.
The last time Krawchuk ran for governor in 2002, he was required to collect 21,027 signatures to get on the ballot. Although he successfully collected 32,500 signatures and ultimately ended up in third place with 1.14% of the vote in a four-way race, Krawchuk stated that getting on the ballot in 2002 was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my entire life”. He also stated that the monumental effort required to get him on the ballot cost the campaign a lot of valuable time and money that could have been spent on outreach.
After 2002, the signature requirement continued to rise, peaking at over 67,000, effectively barring all third party candidates from the gubernatorial race. Candidates who attempted to run but failed to collect the required signatures were fined upwards of $80,000. Even candidates who did collect the required signatures often had a large share of their signatures invalidated by the state, which put them below the minimum and cost them an $80,000 fine.
But a recent court case, on which the Libertarian Party was a plaintiff alongside the Green and Constitution Parties, struck down Pennsylvania’s ballot access laws as unconstitutional. The signature requirement for minor parties was lowered to 5,000, and the massive fines levied against candidates who made unsuccessful attempts were eliminated.
Krawchuk is confident his campaign will be able to meet the new requirement. He states that the $10,000 he hopes to collect from his money bomb will be more than enough to fully fund his ballot access petitioning efforts to secure his place on the ballot, weeks ahead of Primary Day, when his opponents will be chosen.
Krawchuk, 65, is an Information Technology entrepreneur from Abington, Pa. He has appeared on the gubernatorial ballot twice before, facing Democrat Ed Rendell in 2002 and Republican Tom Ridge in 1998. Because of Pennsylvania’s onerous ballot access laws, Krawchuk is the last third party or independent gubernatorial candidate to appear on the Pennsylvania ballot since 2002. His return to politics comes on the heels of his federal court victory in 2016 that ruled unconstitutional the $80,000+ fines that have been levied against statewide candidates who are unsuccessful in their attempt to appear on the November ballot.Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the state and the nation, with over 150 elected and appointed officials currently serving in office nationwide, and 40 in Pennsylvania.
Libertarians are fiscally conservative and socially liberal, and like the Founding Fathers, Libertarians believe that you have the inalienable right to conduct your life as you see fit, without interference, so long as you respect the rights and property of others.For more information about the Libertarian Party, the public is invited to contact the Krawchuk campaign at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (224) Krawchuk (224-572-9248), the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania at www.LPPA.org or (800) R-RIGHTS, or the National Libertarian Party at www.LP.org or (202) 333-0008.
