PRESS RELEASE:
Rocky Anderson, the Justice Party’s candidate for President, declared his candidacy on the Americans Elect website today. The announcement comes in the midst of the Justice Party’s effort to gain ballot access across the country. Although the Justice Party has had some recent setbacks in ballot access acquisition, it continues to grow and expand as America’s fresh face of an independent movement calling for an end to Washington, D.C. corruption.
“Americans Elect provides a unique opportunity to third-party candidates” Anderson states. “It gives the American people the ability to select their choice for President without worrying about the corporate investors backing their campaign. Declared candidates of Americans Elect are selected based on their qualifications rather than the size of their campaign war chest.”
Anderson, an ardent supporter of campaign finance reform, has noted that seeking the Americans Elect nomination is consistent with his nomination as the Justice Party’s presidential candidate. “The advantage of gaining the nomination of Americans Elect is that it advocates for the candidates to develop non-partisan solutions and a more cooperative approach to the politics. Americans Elect can be utilized for candidates outside the two-party duopoly, above the influence of corrupt money.”
Although Americans Elect doesn’t require a candidate to take a pledge towards a particular ideological stance, it does ask that every presidential ticket be ideologically balanced. “A fusion ticket would not only energize the public, it would allow for a greater number of interests to be represented,” observes Anderson. “The Democrats and Republicans no longer respect nor represent the public interest. They both feed from the same trough of, and depend upon, special interest money. Our Democracy has been transformed into a plutocracy – government of, by, and for the wealthy.”
Last when the Justice Party was formed with the help of Rocky Anderson, there was a unifying goal to establish a strong foundation for sustained, long-term changes in the U.S. to achieve a more peaceful, healthy, and just nation. To do this, they understood that they needed a movement to obtain governing authority at all levels of government and they would need to educate and advocate to build support for policies and practices that lead to a more peaceful, healthy, and just nation.
The Justice Party has nominated Rocky Anderson as its Presidential candidate and has been pursuing ballot access in every state. This is, however, a daunting task. Independents and new parties who have achieved nationwide ballot access have spent three to four million dollars collecting signatures. The Justice Party is built on principles, like refusing special interest money, that preclude it from buying its way into the democratic process. We have had success in several states and are actively organizing in over thirty states to develop the Justice Party for long term success.
Americans Elect is a non-partisan non-profit organization in the US hosting the first national online presidential primary in U.S. history. Under the guidelines set forth in an appeal granted by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling against the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to remain outside FEC regulations of political committees, Americans Elect cannot accept funds from candidates or candidate committees, nor donate funds to them, nor can the organization advocate for or against any issue. The organization's sole purpose is to obtain signatures to get on the ballot throughout the United States and to build the technology to process an online nomination.
Americans Elect provides a never-before-possible option for a real choice in 2012 that already has guaranteed ballot access. Let's take advantage of this opportunity. We need everyone to take a few moments to register and become a supporter for Rocky Anderson on Americans Elect's website (Go there now.)
If you have any questions, please post them below, and we'll do our best to address them in a timely manner. Thank you for your continued support, everyone -- please share on Twitter, Facebook, and any other social platform to get the word out.
Rocky Anderson in 2009
Former    announced yesterday that he will seek the U.S. presidential nomination of Americans Elect, an independent organization hoping to field a nonpartisan presidential ticket.  Anderson is already the nominee of the , which he founded late last year.

Anderson served as mayor of Salt Lake City from 2000 to 2008 as a Democrat.  During his time in office, he enacted proposals to reduce the city's carbon emissions and reformed its criminal justice system. After leaving office, he grew critical of President Barack Obama, and left the Democratic Party. He later established the Justice Party, which promotes "social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice" as well as . The party has qualified for the ballot in Utah and Mississippi.

Americans Elect has already attained ballot access in eighteen states, and is petitioning to appear in all fifty.  It hopes to nominate a ticket "responsive to the vast majority of citizens while remaining independent of special interests and the partisan interests of either major political party." Former Louisiana   and economist  have both announced their intentions to seek the party's nomination. Additionally, former  and 2012  presidential candidate  has received recent speculation that he will make a run for the nomination with former Democratic Senator  as his .

In a press release, Anderson explained, "The Democrats and Republicans no longer respect nor represent the public interest. They both feed from the same trough of, and depend upon, special interest money", but Americans Elect "gives the American people the ability to select their choice for President without worrying about the corporate investors backing their campaign."