Voters dissatisfied with choosing between President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers next year could find themselves turning to the Web to pick the nation's next commander in chief.

A national effort has emerged to hold a virtual convention in June 2012, when the major party nominees will be all but decided, to select an alternative, bipartisan ticket to run on the November ballot in all 50 states.

Americans Elect, which is organizing the drive, says it is committed to creating a nonpartisan process that will use the Internet "to give every single voter – Democrat, Republican or independent – the power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012."

The Washington, D.C.-based group takes a major step today toward making its vision a reality as it starts submitting 1.6 million voter signatures to California election officials in an attempt to ensure that the candidates chosen through its nominating process will appear on the state's ballot.

The group's chief operating officer, Elliot Ackerman, called the movement "an effort to elevate our political discourse and get our politics into a position where it's really solution-oriented."

"There's a lot of Americans that feel they're a bit more nuanced than the prescriptive positions that the two parties offer right now," he said.

Observers say an outside choice – and a 21st century system for choosing nominees – could appeal to voters fed up with partisan gridlock in Washington, pointing to the stalemate over the debt ceiling as elected officials' latest offense. And unlike in 1995, when the Reform Party launched by Ross Perot gained ballot access across the country, the current effort can rely on the networking capabilities of the Internet and social media to deliver its message and drum up support.

"Their effort is debuting at a perfect time. ... There is a spirit of independence, political independence, within American politics that this group may successfully tap into and provide a constructive path for people looking for alternatives," said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation.

Americans Elect was thought to be part of a plan to draft New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a candidate in 2008, sparking speculation that the group is intended to forge a path for the wealthy independent to run in 2012.

But Ackerman said Americans Elect does not have a specific person or candidate mold in mind.

"Nothing we're doing here is prescriptive," he said. "We're just trying to create the space" for a nominee.

Instead of adhering to a political platform or ideology, candidates seeking the nomination would have to answer a list of questions that site users generate. The nominee chosen at the convention – open to registered voters of all parties who sign up online – would have to pick a running mate from another party as the ticket's vice presidential candidate.

Ackerman said he believes the group's "inclusive nominating process" will give its candidates a "unique national mandate" and support base.

Veteran Democratic consultant Chris Lehane said the group's nominee would have a tough time winning the White House in 2012, given the current Electoral College system and the practical realities of running without party affiliation, including the need for money and name identification.

"I think it's very difficult to get a third party ... the majority they need to get elected," Lehane said. "As a realistic entity that is capable of winning the presidency, that's a steep challenge."

But Lehane said Americans Elect's efforts could help drive debate and influence the race's competitiveness.

Though the group has already gained ballot access in a handful of other states, organizers say qualifying as a political party in California will be significant in their quest to run a third-party ticket across the country because of the more than 1 million signatures it needed to gather here.

"It is far and away the largest hurdle we have had just from a logistical standpoint," said national field coordinator Kellen Arno.

Collecting the signed support of 1.6 million California voters took manpower and money. The group's California drive hired paid canvassers at a base rate of $1.25 a signature, shelling out at least $2 million to qualify in the Golden State alone.

But the money behind the push remains largely a mystery, as its nonprofit status as a 501(c)(4) organization does not require it to disclose its donors. More than $1.5 million in early funding came last year from Elliot Ackerman's father, Peter Ackerman, a wealthy investor also involved in the group, according to records filed before organizers changed its status to its current form.

Americans Elect officials say contributions come from individual donors and that they will not take money from political action committees, special interests or lobbyists.

Micah Sifry, author of "Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America," called the lack of disclosure "a serious shortcoming."

"If you are trying to gain the trust of voters for something new, I think you have to bend over backwards. ... The law may allow you to not disclose, but in the court of public opinion, failure to disclose is a reason to distrust," he said.

But Sifry said ultimately, if successful, the movement could give the voters an "end run" around the major parties' lock on nominating candidates, restoring the ability to call up fresh candidates later in the election calendar.

"If it works, this Internet nomination system, it may well be the most valuable thing that they do," he said.

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Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.

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