Ballots Without Barriers Appears at FreedomFest 2026

Ballots Without Barriers played a visible role at our biggest event yet - FreedomFest 2026, where more than 1,000 freedom-lovers gathered in Las Vegas.

Lars Mapstead (Founder), Daniel Johnson (Director of Growth), Harrison Kemp (National Director), and Kelsey Lyon (Communications Director) represented Ballots Without Barriers at FreedomFest, where they spoke one-on-one with opinion leaders from across the country. One message came through again and again: the barriers keeping qualified candidates off the ballot have to go. Americans are ready for a system that gives voters more choices, not fewer.

Lars Mapstead also got a speaker role as he judged the Principled Business Pitch Competition, where pre-seed and seed-stage founders shared their innovative ventures before investors and leaders.

The Ballots Without Barriers team came back energized and ready to fight bad laws and uneven enforcement that often punishes candidates whose worst offense is running as a candidate who’s not the first choice of Republican and Democrat leaders.

Right now, we're shining a light on candidates who have been punished simply for running for office, and on the laws that allow it to happen. We're gathering stories from all across the country.

Here’s where you come in: Have you been thrown off the ballot or do you know someone who has? Did you win your case? Let us know - we’re always looking for candidates to feature in videos and stories.

Tell us your story

Thank you for making the fight possible.