Ballot Access Reform: Fixing America's Two-Party Monopoly with Lars Mapstead | 07/31/26

Sam Bushman sits down live at FreedomFest with entrepreneur and Ballots Without Barriers founder Lars Mapstead to talk about political violence, disenfranchised voters, and how rigged ballot access laws keep real competition out of American elections. Lars explains how his nonprofit is pushing 50-state legislation to make it easier for independent and third-party candidates to get on the ballot, why proportional representation could fix gerrymandering, and how citizens can petition their state legislators for free through his platform. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro from FreedomFest 0:57 Meet Lars Mapstead, founder of Ballots Without Barriers 1:47 Why 37% of Americans think violence is needed to fix the country 4:10 RNC and DNC as private corporations controlling ballot access 4:40 Naked capitalism and rigged competition 4:45 Ballots Without Barriers' mission: equal ballot access in all 50 states 6:17 How to send a postcard to your state legislators for free 7:11 Wins so far: Rhode Island, Maine, and Wyoming 7:31 How proportional representation fixes gerrymandering 7:56 Lars's 2024 Libertarian presidential run and voting independent 8:28 Ross Perot, Ron Paul, and third parties that never got a fair shot 12:10 Grading all 50 states on ballot access (only 2 states get an A) 13:49 George Washington's warning about political factions 14:53 Comparing this movement to Braver Angels' red/blue/yellow tags 19:00 Does vote fraud exist, and should elections be nationalized? 18:24 How to donate and get involved 20:27 Closing thoughts and sign-off Call to Action: Visit BallotsWithoutBarriers.com to send a free message to your state legislators demanding equal ballot access, or donate to support the fight for real electoral competition in your state.