The amount of diversity in beliefs Republican candidates have expressed is the best thing about the primary this year. From the very conservative Ron Paul to the fairly moderate Jon Huntsman, the candidates have professed viewpoints that cover a broad spectrum of political opinion.

After the primaries are over, there will only be one presidential candidate sponsored by the Republican National Committee. Other candidates, like Ron Paul, will run as third party candidates if (and when) they are not chosen as the Republican candidate. The cutting of different candidates will reduce the number of beliefs that we can choose to support. As of right now, no Republican candidate has more than 30 percent of the popular vote.

That means that when the Republican party cuts the other candidates off, at least 70 percent of Republicans will have to decide where their allegiance lies and how far they’re willing to change their views to support a new candidate over the candidate (and ideas) they formerly supported.

It wouldn’t be such a big deal that candidates have to find different sponsors or run as independent candidates when they missed out on the party nomination if ballot access laws didn’t restrict and often prevent third party candidates and independent candidates from getting listed on ballots in many states. These laws, according to freeandequal.com, are the reason that the rate of turnover in the US Congress is lower than the rate of turnover in the Soviet Politburo in the USSR. Ninety-five percent of the Soviet Politburo kept their seats and offices despite civil unrest, while an astounding 98 percent of incumbent Congresspersons won their elections.

The ballot access laws usually require third parties to have gained a certain percentage of votes in the previous election to be put on the state’s ballot, or the acquisition of thousands of signatures from registered voters in the state. These requirements are not met very often and restrict both the amount of options we have and the political ideas that we can support. The primaries are also intended to do the same thing. They restrict the number of candidates for whom we can vote.

Neither party was completely satisfied with their chosen candidates in the 2008 presidential elections, and once the Republican primary has played out in full, I don’t anticipate either side will be pleased with their sole candidate either. The amount of diversity in political beliefs and ideas Republican candidates have expressed should wake the general public up to the issues in the current election process. They all have a substantial amount of support among the populace, and yet only one will have any chance to attain presidency. It’s absolutely not right, and the way to make it right is to do away with the primary process and the ballot access laws.