Teacher needs 16,000 signatures to run for Senate

A Santa Fe High School teacher has decided to try to gather the signatures necessary to run as an independent for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici, the Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting.

Zach Boatman, 41, joins some lesser-known Democrats and giants in the Democratic and Republican parties in vying for the seat, which is open for the first time in about three decades.

Boatman told the newspaper he decided to run after a recent conversation in one of the English courses he teaches turned to politics, and the students complained about the process.

“There’s nobody to vote for,” Boatman told the newspaper. “They’re all the same.”

As an independent, he’ll need more than 16,000 signatures to get on the ballot. He plans to have a Web site ready in a couple of weeks.

I’ve written before about the problems minor-party and independent candidates face in terms of ballot access in a system designed to prop up the two-party reign of Democrats and Republicans. It’s ridiculous that Boatman has to gather 16,000 signatures to get on the ballot. If you get the opportunity, help him out by signing his petition.