Tired of Barack Obama?

Disgusted with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul?

Hawaii voters will have a third choice when voting for president Nov. 6 — although who that candidate will be won’t be known until this summer.

A group called Americans Elect this week qualified to place a presidential ticket on the Hawaii ballot. The threshold was 691 signatures of currently registered voters.

Our state joins 18 others — including California, Florida, Ohio, Arizona and Michigan — that will also feature the Americans Elect ticket.

The goal of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Americans Elect is to hold an online nominating convention this summer to select a balanced ticket — a presidential and vice presidential candidate from different political parties — to appear on ballots in all 50 states.

“This is about building an alternative pathway for the American people,” said Americans Elect national press secretary Ileana Wachtel. “There is 42 percent of independents who are dissatisfied with the current presidential candidates, and 66 percent of the country is disgusted with the way government is being run.”

“Washington has ruined this country,” Wachtel continued. “Americans Elect is about giving power back to people. We need people to step up, and the way to do this is with ballot access.”

A Viable Alternative

Third party presidential candidates have often appeared on ballots.

In 2008, in the contest between Democrat Obama and Republican John McCain, four other candidates and their running mates were on the Hawaii ballot, including those representing the Green and Libertarian parties.

Though third party tickets have affected election outcomes — e.g., Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000 — none have been elected in modern U.S. history.

But Americans Elect believes its presidential ticket will have a serious chance at winning.

Delegates will be citizens who sign up online and answer surveys to determine political views so they can be matched with leaders of similar ideologies. The candidates will be selected through an online convention in June.

To qualify, “automatically qualified” candidates — people with a proven electoral track record, like mayors and governors, or with a background similar to the 44 presidents who have served — must receive 1,000 keyboard “clicks” in 10 states. Lesser-known candidates will need to earn 5,000 clicks in 10 states.

Well-known names are already being bandied about, like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A qualifying round will follow featuring six candidates; the eventual nominee will then be balanced with an appropriate VP.

If the Americans Elect ticket can poll 15 percent, it will likely be included in presidential debates this fall.

Jeb Bush and Nancy Pelosi? Al Gore and Mitch Daniels? Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Kucinich? Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice? Sarah Palin and Al Franken? Donald Trump and Warren Buffett?

We’ll know soon enough.