Their view: Group lobbies for third presidential candidate

This is a press release from Americans Elect on gaining ballot access in New Mexico for the 2012 presidential election:

Americans Elect has obtained ballot access in New Mexico for the 2012 presidential election, drawing Americans Elect one step closer to securing ballot access in all 50 states. Americans Elect collected more than 6,800 signatures in New Mexico, more than double the state's requirement. Voters in New Mexico now have an opportunity to nominate a serious third choice for the 2012 presidential election.

"Why should my choice for president be decided by caucuses far away in other states or ultimately by party leaders? Americans Elect puts active and engaged citizens in more control of their choices by bypassing party structure with modern technology and social networking. It fits perfectly with the times," says Brody Norton, an Americans Elect delegate in New Mexico. "This isn't a party, but it is an opportunity to ignore party structure. Congrats to New Mexico for successfully changing the game a bit. I am excited to see the votes."

Ballot access gives New Mexicans the opportunity to participate in the first national online primary this June at AmericansElect.org. America's choice of a unity presidential ticket will be on the general election ballot in November 2012. Any registered voter can go online to sign up and become a delegate. From there, delegates can debate the issues, develop the Platform of Questions and select a candidate to appear on the ballot in all 50 states in 2012.

Americans Elect has already collected more than 80 percent of the 2.9 million signatures required for national ballot access. To date, there have been more than 2.4 million visitors to the site, 17 million questions answered, more than 360,000 delegates and more than 460,000 Facebook fans.

New Mexico is the 16th state to certify Americans Elect.