Kat Swift, Green Party Presidential Candidate, Crusades for Ballot Access

The setting: San Antonio, Texas - A metropolis run by 18 white men.

The goal: To gather enough signatures to get the Green Party on the ballot for the 2008 election.

The obstacle: Texas rules requiring 100,000 signatures or $100,000 within a uniquely small time frame from voters who did not vote in the primary.

The youngest candidate to run for President this year is Kat Swift. Green Party buttons sprayed on her clothes, dreds draped down her back and 10 pounds of petition placards in hand, Kat embodies the Green Values of a grassroots organizer. Kat runs for office as an activist, which is quite different than a career politician.

Watch this video vignette of campaigning with Kat.

 http://www.vimeo.com/1033943 

"You've got to be tough to be a Green in Texas." Using her unique campaign style and youthful appeal Kat hits the street to petition to get the Green Party on her state's ballot. However, Texas laws are set against her goal. Not only do the Texas Greens or any Independent need to get 100,000 signatures, they also need to do it within a 10 week period after the primary - and wait - here's the clincher - only people who did not vote in the primary are qualified to sign the ballot petitions.

This year Texas saw a record-breaking number of voters in the primary. Normally, this is seen as a good thing; but for the Greens, the laws designed to keep dissenting voices muffled have made it difficult to obtain the necessary number of qualified signatures.