A bill would expand ballot access in North Carolina.

State Sen. Jim Jacumin, a Burke County Republican, said he filed the Electoral Freedom Act after intensive lobbying by a constituent.

The bill would reduce the number of signatures required for a political party or unaffiliated candidate to be recognized by the state.

It is being pushed by North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections, a political action committee formed by UNC-Charlotte political science major Jordon Greene.

The group, which had an annual budget of $81 last year, is nonpartisan.

Its Web site includes links to the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties, which are recognized, as well as the Constitution Party, the Green Party and the Modern Whigs, which are not.

"We want everyone to be able to come to us for information and work together toward the goal of alleviating the problem of ballot access," Greene said.