Photo courtesy of Jonathon Albert Sharkey

Barack Obama and John McCain aren’t the only candidates running for president. One man considers himself to be a “death dealer,â€Â another wants to outlaw alcohol and another would abolish paper money if he became president.

Even though you haven’t heard of them, nearly 300 people have announced their candidacy for U.S. president. The jumble of unconventional candidates this election includes hopefuls who go by the names “Emperor Caesar,â€Â “Santa Clausâ€Â and “Ole Savior.â€Â

Becoming the highest-elected official in the United States may be tough, but becoming a candidate is relatively easy — in most states, the candidate must simply collect signatures. The number required varies from state to state. For example, a candidate needs only 2,000 signatures in Minnesota, but California requires 160,000.

Some of these third-party candidates may be on the ballot in their own states and a few others, but for the most part they are running as write-in candidates. In the 2004 presidential election, 514 write-in votes — less than one-quarter of 1 percent — were cast in Fresno County. The total votes that were not cast for the two leading candidates in the county added up to slightly more than 1 percent.

Many alternative candidates list their only political experience as having run in previous elections, leaving their qualifications to lead the country up for debate. In addition to their unconventional viewpoints, many of these alternative candidates have some personal quirks.

Here̢۪s a sampling of some of this year̢۪s candidates:

Jonathon Albert “The Impalerâ€Â Sharkey is a former U.S. Army soldier with a Ph.D. in political science. He is now the Dark Priest for the Church of the Followers of Lucifer. Sharkey also lists founding the Vampyres, Witches, Pagans Party under his political experience. For his professional experience, he lists being a “death dealerâ€Â and starring as himself in the documentary “Impaler,â€Â a film about himself.

Photo courtesy of geneamondson.com

Gene Amondson is this year’s Prohibition Party candidate. He is a preacher with one goal and one goal only — to outlaw all alcohol in the United States. The license plate on his Honda Civic, which now runs on water, reads “VOTEDRY.â€Â In 2004, Amondson received close to 2,000 votes, most from his home state, Louisiana. His campaign Web site also advertises his oil paintings, woodcarvings and pies.

Photo courtesy of frankmooreforpresident08.com

Frank Moore says to those visiting his Web site: “Are you a U.S. citizen? Love party and weed? Vote for Frank Moore.â€Â He urges people to vote for him for a “humane, sustainable and just plain enjoyable society!â€Â Although he has his own approaches, Moore provides a campaign platform that includes many of the same issues the main candidates are addressing such as health care, Social Security, nuclear weapons and taxes. As part of a long list of his platform objectives, he would like to end hunger, poverty and discrimination. He would also like to make Election Day a paid holiday.

Jackson Kirk Grimes is the director of the United Fascist Union, also known as the Nazi Party. He has portrayed Hitler as an actor on “Star Trek.â€Â If elected, Grimes promises to abolish paper money and create a global government.

Candidates like these might be running for president just to seek attention, according to Rodney Anderson, Ph.D., a political science lecturer at Fresno State.

“A lot of the candidates can be very deluded about their chances of winning,â€Â Anderson said. “They think that if they get out there and get their message out that people are going to flock to them and vote for them but it doesn’t work out that way in most cases.â€Â

The minimum requirements to run for the presidency call for the candidate to be a natural-born citizen, be at least 35 years old and have been a U.S. resident for the past 14 years.

The president, with guidance and oversight from Congress, has the following responsibilities, according to the U.S. Constitution: making treaties; appointing, commissioning and filling vacancies in U.S. offices; and ensuring that all laws are executed. The president is also responsible for giving the State of the Union Address and is the commander-in-chief to the U.S. military.

Candidate Info

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̢ۢVisit votesmart.org for more information on these and other alternative candidates.