Incorporated on April 6, 2010, by Peter Ackerman and Kahlil Byrd, Americans Elect began recruiting delegates for its 2012 Presidential Primary in July 2011.

[4][6] In order to obtain ballot access nationwide, some states' guidelines required Americans Elect to register as a political party.

[7] For the 2012 elections, Americans Elect succeeded in ballot access status in 29 states: Alabama, Alaska,[8] Arizona,[8] Arkansas,[9] California,[10][11] Colorado,[12] Florida,[13] Hawaii,[14] Kansas,[8] Maine,[15] Maryland, Michigan,[13] Mississippi,[16] Montana,[17] Nebraska,[18] Nevada,[8] New Mexico,[19] North Carolina,[20] North Dakota, Ohio,[21] Oklahoma,[22] Oregon, Rhode Island,[23] South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah,[24] Vermont,[25] Wisconsin[26] and Wyoming.

[29] Candidates, whether drafted or self-declared, were required to receive a minimum number of clicks of support from verified delegates to advance to the American Elect online primary ballot.

[32] The six finalists were expected to advance to the second phase of the primary, after agreeing to the Americans Elect rules and selecting a Vice-Presidential running mate.

[4][33] Americans Elect planned to choose its final candidate in June 2012 through an Internet-based convention, a process open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.

[35] On May 17, the organization issued a statement that it was ending its nomination process because no candidate had achieved the required amount of support to qualify for its primary ballot.

[36] In July 2012, the remaining board members decided to officially end Americans Elect's presidential efforts and withdrew its name from most state ballots.

Its founders, through an organization called "Level The Playing Field", focused on efforts to get independent and third-party candidates access to the 2016 general election debates.

[44] Americans Elect also ran television ads supporting the U.S. Senate campaign of former Maine governor, Angus King.

[49] Other members of the Board of Directors included Eliot Cutler, Dennis Blair, Stephen W. Bosworth, Irvine Hockaday, Christine Todd Whitman, and Joshua S.

These guys stood for something a thousand times worse than the bitter hyperpartisanship they whined about: a wish-washy just do something attitude towards governance rooted in the pipe dreams of 'radical centrists.