POLITICAL DEBATES Will Nader campaign meet minimum requirements?

The independent candidate has chosen to forgo backing from a national party.
HARTFORD COURANT
WASHINGTON -- Long a champion of inclusive presidential debates, Ralph Nader has urged voters this year to support alternative debates.
But now the independent candidate is facing a potentially humiliating development. His campaign may not meet the minimum requirements to qualify for those alternative "open" debates.
"Given the political climate this year and the hostility toward him, it's not clear that he will meet our criteria," said George Farah, a board member of the Citizens Debate Commission, which is organizing the alternative presidential debates that Nader has repeatedly praised.
This new wrinkle highlights the rocky path Nader chose in deciding to forgo any national party backing this year.
What's required
To participate in the alternative debates, the Citizens Debate Commission requires a presidential candidate be on enough state ballots to conceivably win an electoral majority in November -- 269 electoral votes.
The third-party candidates who head the Libertarian, Green and Constitution Parties are all expected to be on enough state party ballots to meet that requirement.
But as an independent, Nader has had to petition to get on almost every state one at a time. It is an effort that has consumed Nader's campaign resources and has been almost constantly challenged by infuriated Democrats.
"Ballot access in the United States is an embarrassment. And we were would have no trouble in meeting in all 50 states if the Democratic Party wasn't playing dirty tricks," said Nader campaign spokesman Kevin Zeese.
Democratic Party officials have denied any coordinated attack on Nader's ballot petitioning, but they have expressed support for individual Democrats and Democratic groups that challenge him.
At the same time, Zeese said the campaign is confident they will overcome the obstacles. He said their own analysis has them exceeding the petitioning requirements for the Citizens' Debate Commission.
Nader has long been out of the running for gaining access to the major debates, hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates and scheduled for late September and October.
He would need to be polling at 15 percent to be considered for a place at their podium. Nader is polling between 2 percent and 6 percent nationally.