Creating a party might be fairly simple. Getting on a ballot is a bigger issue. Green and libertarian parties often struggle to stay on ballots, or get on at all, depending on the local election laws.
Ballot access is a continual problem for the Libertarian Party and other third party and independent candidates. Making any sweeping statement about the requirements for access is impossible given the dizzying array of state requirements for various offices, and that's part of the point and part of the problem: even understanding, much less complying with and successfully meeting, ballot access demands is a more than full-time job.
Tyler Harris, executive director of the national L.P, says in a phone interview that over $200,000 this year is likely to have to be expended by the national party alone toward ballot access efforts of various sorts, and in terms of morale and stress as well as cash, it's a "significant strain."
Creating a party might be fairly simple. Getting on a ballot is a bigger issue. Green and libertarian parties often struggle to stay on ballots, or get on at all, depending on the local election laws.