MISHAWAKA -- Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is urging Indiana residents to help him get on the state's ballot and to see beyond suggestions that he'll be a ''spoiler'' in November's election.
In weekend stops in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Mishawaka, Nader rejected arguments that he may siphon votes Democrat John Kerry needs to defeat President Bush.
He said a vote for him is not a vote for Bush, but for breaking a system where the two major parties are virtually the same and corrupted by corporate interests.
''The more we settle for the least worse and the more we vote tactically, the worse things will get,'' Nader said Saturday during a visit to Indianapolis.
''I believe the only vote you waste is when you vote for someone you don't believe in. If everybody voted his or her conscience, we would have a better government.''
During his speeches around the state, clipboards with petitions and voter registration forms circulated throughout the venues.
Nader estimated that he will have to collect 40,000 signatures by June 30 to satisfy Indiana's requirement that he have 30,000 verified signatures of registered voters to qualify for the state ballot.
Nader was on the ballot in 43 states plus the District of Columbia in 2000, but hopes to boost that to all 50 states in time for the November elections.
He said that some states create higher hurdles for independent candidates. He noted that in Texas, independent candidates need 20,000 more signatures than third-party candidates to qualify -- and have three fewer weeks to collect them.
''Some of this we'll be litigating because there's really no rational basis for discriminating like that,'' Nader said. ''There should be one federal standard for federal election ballot access; instead, there's 50.''
Nader said his campaign is ahead of where it was in 2000, and recent polls show him with about 6 percent of the vote.
While he received just 2.7 percent of the vote nationwide in 2000, he collected more than 97,000 votes in Florida, where Bush beat Democrat Al Gore by just 537 votes to win the presidency.
Gen Shaker, 29, of Indianapolis agrees with Nader on many issues but said she can understand why some people see him as a potential spoiler.
''I would never blame him solely for what happened in 2000, but I understand people's fear about voting for him, even if they believe in him,'' she said.
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