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Ralph Nader's volunteers submitted more than 10,000 petition signatures Monday in an effort to secure a spot for the consumer advocate on the November presidential ballot in Kansas.

Nader, campaigning a fifth time for the White House, is attempting to gain access to ballots in 45 states to challenge Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

"Today's turn-in takes the campaign one step closer to reaching its goal," said Matthew Bruenig, a University of Oklahoma student who helped coordinate the signature drive.

To qualify for Kansas' ballot, state law mandates signatures from 5,000 registered voters. About 10,050 signatures were submitted to the Kansas secretary of state's office, said David Peyton, a Milwaukee high school teacher and Nader volunteer.

Peyton said signatures came from residents of 70 counties in Kansas. The majority were from Shawnee, Johnson, Douglas, Wyandotte and Sedgwick counties.

The national ballot initiative is part of a strategy to improve polling numbers for Nader to qualify the independent candidate for televised debates with Obama and McCain. Nader must raise his polling profile to 10 percent from the current 6 percent to join a Google-sponsored debate in September.

Campaign volunteer Nicole Brooks, an Arizona State University student, said she backed Nader because he advocated a "living wage" for Americans, universal health care and rapid withdrawal from Iraq.

"He actually speaks to issues that the other candidates are not," she said. _____________________

From: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08218/901849-53.stm ... On Monday, Mr. Nader and his 2004 running mate, Peter Miguel Camejo, petitioned the state Commonwealth Court to overturn the $81,000 judgment on grounds that the ballot challenge was orchestrated by Democratic lawmakers and aides in the state House of Representatives as part of a conspiracy to illegally spend public money for political purposes.

Last month, the state attorney general's office filed criminal charges against a dozen people connected with the House Democratic caucus as part of an ongoing investigation.

In the 2004 challenge, nearly two-thirds of Mr. Nader's signatures were declared invalid following a review that involved 11 Commonwealth Court judges.

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