Ballot access laws are the main barrier to many potential candidates. However, more and more states are making it harder to pass ballot initiatives. This article is from The Campaign Legal Center by Georgia Lyon:

Citizen-led state ballot initiatives play an important role in making democracy more accountable, transparent and inclusive. By establishing independent redistricting commissions (IRC), strengthening donor disclosure laws and creating independent ethics commissions, voters have ensured that their government works for them rather than politicians or wealthy special interests.  

But now, lawmakers are seeking to make it more difficult for everyday citizens to do this. As of March 1, 2021, 24 states had introduced bills to raise the bar for passing ballot initiatives, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. These pieces of legislation would undermine the ability to enact much-needed reforms in two key ways.  

First, they would increase the number of signatures needed to place an initiative on the ballot, or the number of state legislative or congressional districts where petitioners must gather names. Second, they would require a supermajority of 60% or 67% for the initiative to be approved.

Read the full article here.