JILL STEIN

The 2024 presidential election is drawing a robust field of independent, third party and long shot candidates.

Environmental activist Jill Stein is launching another long-shot Green Party bid for the presidency.

Two political outsiders have taken steps to launch independent or third-party presidential bids over the past week.

Recount observers check ballots during a Milwaukee hand recount of Presidential votes at the Wisconsin Center, Friday, Nov. 20, 2012, in Milwaukee, Wis. Joe Biden won Wisconsin by 20,600 votes and carried Dane and Milwaukee counties by a 2-to-1 margin. Trump’s attorney also claimed that the law does not allow clerks to fill in missing information on the envelope that goes with absentee ballots. Trump also asked to separate absentee ballots with or without written applications and to observe absentee ballot logs that would account for those requested through the state’s myvote.wi.gov website. Unlike in Dane County, Trump’s campaign in Milwaukee initially asked only to review those ballots and others, not to have them discounted.

“Regrettably, the integrity of the election results cannot be trusted without a recount in these two counties and uniform enforcement of Wisconsin absentee ballot requirements. “It’s not surprising at all that Donald Trump, the Trump campaign, wants to have one last mass gathering that will put people’s health in peril,” Barrett said. The Wisconsin Elections Commission late Wednesday night voted to approve issuing an order on Thursday to commence the recount. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered McDonell to stop issuing guidance that is different from official language approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The Trump campaign alleged that “the damage was already done” before McDonell was ordered to remove the language.

(AP Photo/Stephen Groves)MADISON, Wis. – Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won battleground state Wisconsin on Wednesday, edging out President Donald Trump in a state that was crucial to the incumbent’s victory four years ago. The last presidential recount, done in 2016, cost Green Party candidate Jill Stein $3.5 million. In the recount of the 2016 presidential race, the state elections commission ordered on Nov. 29 that the recount begin on Dec. 1. In the Wisconsin recount, Democrat Hillary Clinton gained 713 votes while Trump picked up 844, widening his lead by 131 votes. There were several reasons why some ballots were counted or not during the 2016 recount, said Scott McDonnel, the Dane County clerk, on Wednesday.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – In close elections, it doesn't take much for third-party candidates to play an outsize role — as Democrats learned the hard way in 2016. A vital third-party candidate would likely help him tremendously.”But third-party candidates are facing hurdles that didn't exist four years ago, potentially weakening their impact. In a court decision last week, the Green Party candidate was barred from appearing on Pennsylvania’s ballot. “I saw last time, there’s no hope in a third-party candidate in this basically two-party system that we have. But the president’s team, which has denied playing a role in West’s bid, has done little game-planning for a third-party candidate.

The court’s two Republicans agreed the Green Party did not meet the law's requirements, but, in a dissenting opinion, said it might be possible to allow the Green Party to fix it retroactively. In this case, Democratic party activists challenged what they said were disqualifying irregularities in how the Green Party filed affidavits for the presidential candidate that is supposed to accompany paperwork with at least 5,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. Initially, Green Party officials faxed in an affidavit of candidacy for a placeholder candidate — under whose nominal candidacy the party gathered the signatures — by the Aug. 3 deadline. “And the court said, fax is not good enough,” said Larry Otter, the lawyer handling the case for the Green Party. Because the placeholder candidate didn't properly submit the affidavit, Hawkins' affidavit is nullified, the majority opinion said.

But they left many of the partys strongest liberals worried that little progress would be made toward their sweeping goals. Asked whether his recent moves mean hell govern as a progressive, Biden retorted on CNBC: Im going to be Joe Biden. Biden aides say hes uniquely positioned for a wide Biden coalition because voters prioritize experience and temperament, along with policy. Republicans who dislike Trump the kind who cut deals with Sen. Biden or Vice President Biden arent likely to back President Biden's proposed public option health insurance expansion when theyve never embraced the Affordable Care Act. Winning back just that cohort back could be enough to secure Biden to the presidency alone this cycle, he said.

FILE - In this June 12, 2019, file photo, Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., listens to debate on Capitol Hill in Washington. Amash, a Trump critic, said Saturday, May 16, 2020, that he has decided not to seek the Libertarian nomination to run for president. But third-party campaigns can have unpredictable consequences for the Democratic and Republican candidates in the race. Amash left the Republican Party last year and later supported Trumps impeachment in the Democratic-led House. In announcing his intention in late April to seek the Libertarian nomination, Amash said he wanted to represent the millions of Americans who do not feel well represented by either major party.