Jill Stein, the presidential nominee of the Green Party, qualified Thursday for the ballot in Connecticut, while the state remains one of four yet to certify petitions collected on behalf of the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.
The Libertarian Party says Johnson is on track qualify for the ballot in all 50 states. The Green Party says Stein has qualified in 40 states and has hopes for seven others through a mix of petitions and litigation.
In Connecticut, the office of Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced the validation of signatures from at least 7,500 voters, the threshold for a minor party. The Libertarian petitions still were being checked.
Johnson seems to be the only minor-party candidate with even a slim chance of clearing 15 percent in presidential polling, a qualification for joining Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald J. Trump at their first debate on Sept. 26.
Johnson and Stein need to reach 15 percent in five polls: ABC-Washington Post, CBS-New York Times, CNN-Opinion Research Corporation, Fox News, and NBC-Wall Street Journal.
Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, has reached double digits, but he has averaged 7.6 percent in polls tracked by Real Clear Politics. Stein, a physician from Massachusetts, has averaged 3.2 percent.
An online survey released Thursday from Morning Consult found 52 percent of voters support including Johnson in the debates; 47 percent support an invitation to Stein.