Ballots Without Barriers debuts, boosts voter voices with more choices

Libertarians have long known that state election laws serve one master: the duopoly.

Libertarian entrepreneur Lars Mapstead launched his 2024 presidential campaign to challenge election laws that punish grassroots candidates. That hands-on experience illuminated the root problem and inspired a solution: Change the laws that deny voters better choices.

Mapstead went on to found organizations dedicated to tackling these barriers, including Ballots Without Barriers, which debuted formally at the 2026 Libertarian National Convention.

Ballots Without Barriers is building the infrastructure needed to turn ideas into action. Through legislative advocacy, public education, and grassroots organizing, the organization is creating opportunities for people across the country to push for meaningful reform.

Attendees in Grand Rapids explored the ballot-access calculator, which shows how much it costs to run for Congress in each state, from petitioning expenses to filing fees. The real cost in most states is eye-opening.

Frustrated by the barriers to political participation, attendees fired off postcards and emails to their state legislators demanding change in a matter of seconds. More than 100 people took action after stopping by the booth.

Richard Winger, whose encyclopedic Ballot Access News has been the go-to election law resource for four decades, serves as a key advisor to the project.

Inspired by his work, Ballots Without Barriers is working to expand awareness of ballot access issues beyond those who have directly experienced them and reach the millions of voters who live with their consequences every election cycle.

State chairs attended a luncheon where Lars Mapstead explained his motivation for taking on such a monumental challenge and invited others to join the effort. He then introduced Harrison Kemp, Executive Director of Ballots Without Barriers. Chairs participated in a discussion about both the well-known obstacles and the lesser-known solutions surrounding ballot access reform.

LP of Maine Vice Chair and longtime state party leader Jim Baines shared his experience petitioning before Maine's 2023 legislative victory. He also offered a glimpse of what a better system could look like when describing the process of getting Chase Oliver on the ballot.

"We just had to sign a piece of paper."

Expanding the number of candidates who can access the ballot will appeal to voters and nonvoters alike, especially those who view elections as little more than political theater.

To learn more, send a postcard to your legislator, or calculate your state's ballot tax, visit ballotswithoutbarriers.com and explore how your state compares.