(CBS) By Clothilde Ewing,
CBS News Political Unit

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As the Green Party candidate in 2000, Ralph Nader was on the ballot in 43 states and Washington, D.C., and received 2.7 percent of the national vote. This year he is experiencing the wrath of Democrats and many Greens because of his decision to run again in 2004. Called everything from a spoiler to words not fit for print, Nader is undeterred and has vowed to continue his quest to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

Nader insists that his candidacy will help Kerry and not Bush as his detractors claim. "I think I'm going to be getting more votes from people who would have voted for George W. Bush, but are furious with him like conservatives, liberal Republicans," Nader told CBS News. But according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll, the numbers don't back his theory. If the presidential election were held today, 46 percent of voters say they would vote for Kerry and 44 percent would vote for Bush in a two-man race. But if Nader's name is added to the ballot, Bush takes the lead over Kerry, 43 percent to 41 percent; Nader would draw 5 percent of the vote, mostly at the expense of Kerry.

So far, Nader's campaign has raised more than $600,000, which campaign spokesman Kevin Zeese points out is three times what they had raised at this point in 2000. They recently put in a request for matching funds, two months ahead of their schedule last cycle.

But unlike 2000, Nader is running as an independent this time and faces the daunting task of amassing enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in each state. So far, he hasn’t qualified for any. In 1992, it cost Ross Perot over $5 million to get on all 50 state ballots.

Nader argues that one problem with the country's electoral system is that it is stacked against independent candidates and third parties. Armed with testimonials from supporters, the campaign also insists it is encountering barriers in its signature-gathering drive. In Texas, for example, the campaign says volunteer Scott Kohlhaas was issued a criminal trespass warning as he tried to gather signatures at the University of Texas at Austin. And volunteer Scott Crow says he is experiencing far more restrictive signature gathering rules in Dallas than in 2000, reporting that petitioners have even been blocked from entering festivals on public streets.

The Nader people also say that Libertarian petitioners claim they were told to leave post office property throughout the state as they attempted to circulate petitions. Mike Lavigne, communications director of the Texas Democratic Party, denies the party is behind the anti-Nader efforts. "I wish I could say we had this kind of pull, but it's not us," Lavigne says.

But other Democrats clearly hope Nader doesn't get on the ballot, particularly in the battleground states. According to Sarah Leonard, spokesperson for the Democratic organizations America Votes, ACT and the Media Fund, they are keeping an eye on Nader's efforts. "If we think it gets to the point where we need to step in and mobilize to make sure he doesn't get on the ballot, then we will," she says. Take, for example, Nader's effort to amass 1,000 signatures in one place in Oregon earlier this month, which would have won him a spot on the state ballot. ACT joined forces with other organizations in the state to discourage people from signing the petition and then called on Howard Dean to speak out against Nader as well. Nader wound up with only 741 signers, though he has vowed to try again.

The Arizona Democratic Party's communications director, Sarah Rosen, says they are not only monitoring Nader, but also encouraging people not to join his effort. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Arizona, 41 percent to 36 percent, and independents are at a premium. "We are not worried about him taking our Democrats. The question is what about the other 23 percent of independents," Rosen tells CBS News.

However, with the Green Party still without a national candidate, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that Nader could again represent them. This would be a huge boost to his campaign, as the Greens are already on 23 ballots, including the battleground states of Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin. But Green Party spokesman Scott McLarty says there is an ongoing debate within the party on whether they should try to compete in all 50 states or let the battleground states go if it looks like John Kerry can win. It's a debate McLarty expects to continue up until the Green convention on June 30.

Here's the task Nader has ahead of him. The deadline for Texas is May 10, only 11 days away:

# Required Signatures/Deadline or fee

Texas: 64,076, May 10

New Jersey: 800, June 8

Arizona: 14,694, June 9

Illinois: 25,000, June 21

Indiana: 29,552, June 30

Colorado: $500, July 5

North Carolina: 100,532, July 6

Nevada: 4,805, July 9

Georgia : 37,153, July 13

Florida: 93,024, July 15

Michigan: 31,776, July 15

Oklahoma: 37,027, July 15

South Carolina: 10,000, July 15

Missouri: 10,000, July 26

Arkansas: 1,000, Aug 2

Kansas: 5,000, Aug 2

Maryland: est. 28,000, Aug 2

Pennsylvania: 25,697, Aug 2

West Virginia: 12,962, Aug 2

Massachusetts: 10,000, Aug 3

South Dakota: 3,346, Aug 3

Alaska: 2,845, Aug 4

Connecticut: 7,500, Aug 4

California: 153,035, Aug 6

Maine: 4,000, Aug 9

Montana: 5,000, Aug 11

New Hampshire: 3,000, Aug 11

Iowa: 1,500, Aug 13

D.C.: est 3,450, Aug 17

New York: 15,000, Aug 17

Ohio: 5,000, Aug 19

Tennessee: 25, Aug 19

Virginia: 10,000, Aug 20

Wyoming: 3,644, Aug 23

Nebraska: 2,500, Aug 24

Oregon: 1,000/one meeting Aug 24

Idaho: 5,017, Aug 25

Washington: 1,000, Aug 24

Alabama: 5,000, Aug 31

Delaware: 5,182, Sep 1

Hawaii: 7,711, Sep 3

Mississippi: 1,000, Sep 3

North Dakota: 4,000, Sep 3

Rhode Island: 1,000 Sep 2

Utah: 1,000, Sep 3

Louisiana: $4,500, Sep 7

New Mexico: 14,527, Sep 7

Minnesota: 2,000, Sep 14

Kentucky: 5,000, Sep 7

Wisconsin: 2,000, Sep 7

Vermont: 1,000, Sep 17

* States in bold are states where the Nader campaign has state coordinators and where the campaign is in signature gathering mode.

* States in italics are states Nader has campaigned in so far.

(It is important to note that ballot requirements differ by state. In addition to a varying number of signatures needed to qualify, states also open the process for different lengths of time.)

©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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