Elections always bring out the best and worst in people. This year, a lot of kooky candidates have appeared and stated their intentions to challenge Republican nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton for the U.S. presidency.
Based on the Federal Election Commission filings, CBS News has learned that over 1,800 "statement of candidacy" forms from spoof candidates have been submitted. Some of these "candidates" call themselves the "Ghosts of Ronald Reagan," "Deez Nuts," "God," "Satan," "Darth Vader" and "Captain Crunch," among many other fancy names.
In an effort to discourage these pranksters, the government agency sent them a warning letter. "Dear Candidate," the letter reads. "It has come to the attention of the Federal Election Commission that you may have failed to include an accurate name of the candidate and an accurate principal campaign committee... when you filed FEC Form 2."
They have been given 30 days to respond to the FEC; otherwise, their names would be removed from the pool of eligible presidential candidates.
The FEC letter also states that "knowingly and willfully making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a federal government agency" is punishable under U.S. law.
It is actually a breeze to submit Form 2 statements of candidacy. However, wading through these joke statements is making it more difficult for officials to sort out these fake filings. And despite their warnings, FEC Chairwoman Ann M. Ravel told the New York Times that the "likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim."
Ravel said the 2016 presidential campaign abuses could actually cost the government a whopping $10 billion. "I never want to give up, but I'm not under any illusions. People think the FEC is dysfunctional. It's worse than dysfunctional," she admitted.
