Ross Perot

Ross Perot speaks during the christening of the William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) as Lawrence's widow, Diane Lawrence, right, looks on Saturday April 17. 24, 2010 at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS. Perot and Lawrence had become friends while at the Naval Academy.(AP Photo/Chip English)

Jim Bennett writes a weekly column offering historical context to current events. Bennett served as Secretary of State of Alabama from 1993 - 2003 and from 2013 - 2015. He was a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald from 1961 to 1971. He can be reached at: jimbennettwriter58@gmail.com

Given the high negatives of both presumptive presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, at least one national poll suggests Americans might be ready for a third party candidate--if given the chance.

Considering the late hour, however, the window for such an opportunity has probably already closed. Several states have seen their ballot deadlines come and gone.

Data Targeting, Inc., a polling company based in Gainesville, Florida that has been involved in investigating the viability of a third party effort since February, conducted a nationwide poll using live telephone surveys of 997 active registered voters from May 12 - 15.

According to its findings, 58 percent of respondents are dissatisfied with both the leading Republican and Democratic candidates for president. 55 percent favor having a third party independent candidate, including a stunning 91 percent of voters under the age of 29.

When the survey respondents were given a ballot test between Trump, Clinton, and a third party independent candidate, Trump received 34 percent, Clinton 31 percent, the independent 21 percent, with 13 percent unsure.

Perhaps the most famous third party race came with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 who helped the Republicans replace the Whigs. For the record, that year, Alabama voted for Vice President John C. Breckinridge, the nominee of the southern wing of the Democratic Party which had split from its northern counterpart.

To qualify as a third party or independent candidate in enough states to come close to winning the needed 270 electoral votes, a lot of work would have already need to be done at this point.

This is not 1912, when Teddy Roosevelt literally left the GOP convention to foment the Bull Moose Party. Since then, the major parties have created regulations to make it harder for third party or independent candidates to launch credible bids for president.

There is, however, another potential motivation for a third party race, other than actually winning: to deny victory to one of the major party contenders by taking votes away from him or her. That's what happened, of course, in the Ross Perot race in 1992. His run tossed the election to Bill Clinton who won the White House with a plurality.

There are two minor parties that have gained ballot space in a number of states that are possibilities, the Green and Libertarian Parties, one liberal, the other conservative. Greens, who oppose the Keystone Pipeline, believe environment protection is the overriding issue; Libertarians believe in so little government regulation that drugs would be a personal option. Either one of these might have a hard time gaining national traction.

Neither of those parties have permanent ballot status in Alabama and would have to get 3 percent of the turnout in the last governor's race on petitions to run as a party: 35,412 names. Trouble is that deadline passed March 1.

With third-party routes shutting down, another option would be to run as an independent. Each state has different requirements for the number of valid signatures needed, ranging from a low of 275 in Tennessee to a high of 178,039 in California. They also set their own deadline for filing independent petitions. All state deadlines close by the end of August; some have already passed including Texas which shut down the process May 9. To have gotten on the ballot there would have been plenty tough anyway. It would have taken the signatures of 80,000 voters who did not participate in either major party primary earlier this year.

The deadlines in North Carolina of June 9, Illinois June 29, Indiana, June 30, are also imminent.

Alabama's deadline is not until August 18 but here an independent running for president would have to garner the names of 5,000 verified voters on a petition. Word in Montgomery is that the Libertarians plan to go the independent route, like they did in 2012.

Alabama has actually voted for third party presidential candidates twice in the past, for Strom Thurman of the Dixiecrats in 1948 and for George Wallace of the American Independent Party in 1968. Guess they didn't like the choice between Harry Truman and Tom Dewey or Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon.

Of course, you could always have a write-in candidate. Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn will get some unsolicited votes, so will Mickey Mouse but here too there are some hills to climb. In 35 states, a write-in presidential candidate must file some paperwork in advance of an election to have their votes counted. In Alabama, names of fictitious candidates like Mickey are not counted. In seven states, write-in voting for presidential candidates is not permitted.

With all that's involved, your choices probably will boil down November 8 to Trump or Clinton.

Either way, hopefully the country will stay out of hot water.