Ballot Access News
Ballot Access News is a monthly newsletter tracking U.S. ballot access laws, court decisions, and minor party developments across all 50 states, serving minor party activists, election law attorneys, and political science researchers via PayPal subscriptions ($18/year domestic, $20/year foreign).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Ballot Access News does
Ballot Access News is a privately-held newsletter publication tracking ballot access legislation, court decisions, and minor political party developments across all 50 U.S. states. Founded in 1984 by Richard Winger and operated as a sole proprietorship under his copyright, the publication is based in San Francisco with a secondary co-editor location in Perrysburg, Ohio. Its core product is a monthly print newsletter (12 issues annually) covering petition requirements, filing deadlines, court rulings, and legislative bills affecting ballot access for third parties and independent candidates. The publication maintains a digital archive at ballot-access.org spanning roughly 22 years and 6,802+ pages of content, accessible publicly as both reader acquisition and historical record.
The business model is straightforward direct-to-consumer subscription: domestic readers pay $18/year and foreign readers pay $20/year, processed via PayPal, with voluntary donations accepted above the subscription price. There are no other disclosed revenue streams, no advertising, no institutional contracts, and no parent company or external funding. The operating team consists of publisher/editor Richard Winger, co-editor Bill Redpath, webmaster Kevin Hayes, and operations assistant Brian Hauptli, despite a firmographic headcount range of 51-100 (which appears inconsistent with the named operational team and likely includes contributors or is a data error). Customer segments are narrow: minor party activists, minor party organizations (Libertarian, Green, Constitution, etc.), election law attorneys, and political science researchers or journalists. No marketing apparatus exists beyond the content itself, with acquisition driven by word-of-mouth within a tight-knit political reform community. There are no APIs, software integrations, mobile apps, patents, certifications, partnerships, awards, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed or evident in the input data.
Ballot Access News firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ballot Access News
- Legal name
- Ballot Access News
- Website
- https://ballot-access.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Ballot Access News is a monthly newsletter tracking U.S. ballot access laws, court decisions, and minor party developments across all 50 states, serving minor party activists, election law attorneys, and political science researchers via PayPal subscriptions ($18/year domestic, $20/year foreign).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ballot Access News industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Political Newsletter / Election Law Publication
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)
Keywords
Where Ballot Access News is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ballot Access News business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Print Newsletter Subscription: The primary revenue stream is subscription fees for the print newsletter, distributed 12 times per year at $18 domestic and $20 foreign. Additional donations are also accepted.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription with 12 print issues |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Ballot Access News product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ballot Access News publishes a monthly subscription newsletter covering ballot access legislation, court decisions, election rules, and third-party/minor party political developments across all 50 U.S. states. The publication is distributed 12 times per year via print mail and digitally through its website, with archives spanning over 22 years of continuous reporting on petition requirements, deadlines, legislative changes, and election law litigation.
Product overview
Ballot Access News is a single publication — a monthly newsletter covering ballot access legislation, court rulings, and minor party news across U.S. states. It is published by Richard Winger and distributed by subscription ($18 for 12 issues per year, $20 foreign). The newsletter is available in print and on the website, with recent issues archived and accessible online.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ballot Access News Newsletter A monthly subscription newsletter covering ballot access laws, court decisions, election rules, and third-party/minor party political developments across all 50 U.S. states. Published 12 times per year by Richard Winger, distributed via print mail and digital formats, priced at $18/year domestic and $20/year foreign, with optional additional donations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Comprehensive coverage of ballot access bills across all 50 states with detailed tracking of petition requirements and deadlines
Companies that use Ballot Access News
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ballot Access News technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ballot Access News partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Ballot Access News competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Daily Kos Elections: Progressive digital election-news outlet covering down-ballot races and ballot measures broadly. Adjacent in serving politically engaged readers, but mass-market digital scale vs. Ballot Access News' narrow print niche.
- Politico: Major political news outlet with dedicated election-law and campaigns coverage. Overlaps in audience (legal/political professionals) but operates at vastly larger scale across the full spectrum of politics.
Emerging players
- Cook Political Report: Election analysis and rating organization covering federal and state races. Comparable audience of political professionals and journalists, but commercial/subscription forecasting product rather than ballot-access legal news.
- Sabato's Crystal Ball (UVA Center for Politics): University-based election analysis and forecasting newsletter. Comparable as a recurring political-analysis publication with subscription access, but broader in scope (all races) and academic in tone rather than ballot-access focused.
- OpenSecrets: Nonpartisan research group tracking money in U.S. politics. Comparable in serving election-law researchers and political journalists, but focused on campaign finance rather than ballot access — an adjacent rather than overlapping niche.
Direct peers
- Ballotpedia: Nonprofit digital encyclopedia covering elections, candidates, ballot measures, and ballot access across the U.S. Direct comparable in mission and audience (election-law researchers and political operatives), differing primarily in format (digital wiki vs. print newsletter) and scope (broader coverage of all candidates, not just minor-party access).
- Election Law Blog (Rick Hasen): Long-running blog covering U.S. election law, including ballot access, redistricting, and campaign finance. Direct comparable targeting many of the same election-law attorney and academic readers as Ballot Access News, with more academic/legal commentary and less minor-party operational focus.
Others
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Elections & Campaigns: Bipartisan state-legislature organization publishing research on election administration and ballot access. Source-grade comparable for state-by-state election-law tracking but governmental/non-commercial rather than a paid newsletter.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Ballot Access News social profiles
Digital presenceBallot Access News financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ballot Access News leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ballot Access News funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ballot Access News M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ballot Access News
What does Ballot Access News do?
Ballot Access News publishes a monthly subscription newsletter covering ballot access legislation, court decisions, election rules, and third-party/minor party political developments across all 50 U.S. states. The publication is distributed 12 times per year via print mail and digitally through its website, with archives spanning over 22 years of continuous reporting on petition requirements, deadlines, legislative changes, and election law litigation.
Is Ballot Access News a public or private company?
Ballot Access News is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ballot Access News founded?
Ballot Access News was founded in 1984. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Ballot Access News based?
Ballot Access News is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ballot Access News make money?
One revenue line is on record: print Newsletter Subscription.
Who are Ballot Access News's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Daily Kos Elections and Politico. Emerging players are Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball (UVA Center for Politics) and OpenSecrets. Direct peers are Ballotpedia and Election Law Blog (Rick Hasen). National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Elections & Campaigns is listed as an others.
Does Ballot Access News have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ballot Access News.
What industry is Ballot Access News in?
Ballot Access News's product category is Political Newsletter / Election Law Publication. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines, with a secondary code of MPACAIAA, Newsletter Publishing Platforms. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.