紧随7月4日——和在他的宿怨中随着唐纳德·特朗普总统和国会共和党人就总统的税收政策法案达成共识，科技亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克宣布计划成立一个全新的政党，称为“美国党”，代表他所谓的“中间的80%”。

　　马斯克，谁最近离开他作为政府效率部部长的临时政府职位，告诉他的X追随者，他的新党将“还给你自由。”

　　在一个一系列员额上周末，马斯克表示，他的政党将“在战场上的一个精确位置使用极其集中的力量”，以“2或3个参议院席位和8至10个众议院选区”为目标，他认为这“足以成为有争议法律的决定性一票。”

　　那么，马斯克需要什么来启动他的第三方努力呢?这里有一个概述。

　　参加投票

　　首先，马斯克必须让他的政党在他想竞争的州的选票上出现——每个州都有自己的资格认证过程。

　　在许多州，包括肯塔基州，填补即将退休的共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)在2026年空缺席位的竞争正在升温，党指定的候选人必须从州认可的政党获得提名，该政党在上次总统选举中获得了一定比例的选票，否则候选人必须以独立候选人或书面候选人的身份参选。

　　在其他州，美国党的名字本身可能会带来问题，比如在纽约州法律根据选举法博客，禁止政党将“美国”一词或其任何部分作为其政党名称的一部分。

　　为这些州一级的努力提供资金将需要大量资源。将需要专家来浏览每个州的选举法和政治制度，以确定和提名有希望的候选人，拉票人将必须为每个候选人收集成千上万个签名，才能将他们推上选票。

　　传统上，候选人和他们的政党是这些行动的先锋，共同努力制定收集签名、选民登记、竞选筹款和开支的战略。但马斯克的美国党不太可能很快成为一个获得认证的政党，因为审查政治组织作为政党资格的联邦选举委员会自一名委员4月辞职以来一直没有达到法定人数，因此该机构只有三名委员。联邦选举委员会委员只能由特朗普总统本人任命。

　　目前尚不清楚马斯克是否为他的美国党提交了任何文件，FEC发言人拒绝就该机构是否收到马斯克团队的任何文件发表评论。

　　走PAC路线

　　面对获得政党认证的长期可能性，一些选举专家表示，马斯克至少暂时可以通过超级政治行动委员会专注于众议院和参议院的候选人。

　　这是因为国会选举的选票是由各州而不是联邦政府管理的，所以美国党仍然可以在没有联邦选举委员会认证的情况下将其指定的候选人放在选票上，只要他们通过了州资格认证。

　　由于超级政治行动委员会不受筹款或支出限制的约束，美国党超级政治行动委员会可以通过包括马斯克本人在内的支持者的无限捐款获得资金，并可以独立地花费无限量的资金支持其候选人。

　　唯一的问题是超级政治行动委员会无法像联邦选举委员会认证的政党那样直接与竞选活动合作，但凯普林和德赖斯代尔的选举律师马特·桑德森告诉美国广播公司新闻，超级政治行动委员会的效率实际上可能超过政党的优势。

　　“组建一个超级政治行动委员会，就称自己是一个政党——这并不违反规则。不需要联邦选举委员会的祝福，”桑德森说，他是2024年选举期间无标签运动的法律顾问。“实际上，我认为，在这个时代，试图组建一个全国党委毫无意义。”

　　桑德森说:“他们可以随便称呼自己，”他解释说，联邦选举委员会并不禁止超级政治行动委员会自称为政党，只要它不直接与竞选活动协调。“只要跳过这个非常繁琐且并非完全有益的过程，坚持自己是一个政党，然后向前迈进。”

　　合力

　　此外，马斯克可以争取现有第三方的帮助，如自由党或绿党。

　　然而，历史上第三政党在美国很少成功当选。

　　在2024年的选举中，中间派团体No Labels领导了一场第三方总统运动，但在共和党和民主党全国代表大会前几个月结束了努力，因为他们未能在自己设定的最后期限前找到候选人。

　　长期自由党提名人蔡斯·奥利弗(Chase Oliver)参加了2024年总统竞选，但获得的选票不到总票数的0.5%。

　　尽管如此，一个可能的合作可能正在进行中:马斯克一直在与民主党前总统候选人杨安泽联系，后者最近几天领导了自己的第三党中间派努力，一位知情人士向美国广播公司新闻证实了这一点。

　　Wiley Rein的选举律师Caleb Burns承认通过联邦选举委员会获得正式政党地位的潜在意义，而不是通过超级政治行动委员会绕过这一步，强调政党作为“政治家的品牌”的作用。

　　伯恩斯说:“任何新政党的成功将取决于是否有足够的候选人——推而广之，是否有足够的公众成员——对与这个新品牌结盟感兴趣。”“如果答案是肯定的，那么尽一切可能加强和推广这一品牌是有意义的——这意味着继续承担创建和正式成立一个新政党所必需的组织和法律负担。”

　　伯恩斯说:“然而，关键的前提是政治问题，即人们是否对一种新的政治家有足够的兴趣。”"对于这一点，我们似乎必须等待，看看马斯克会得出什么结论."

　　What would it take for Elon Musk to create a new political party in America?

　　On the heels of the Fourth of July -- andamid his feudwith President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans over the president's tax policy bill -- tech billionaire Elon Musk announced plans for a brand new political party, dubbed "America Party," to represent what he called "the 80% in the middle."

　　Musk, whorecently lefthis temporary government post as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, told his X followers that his new party will "give you back your freedom."

　　In aseries of postsover the weekend, Musk said his party would use "extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield" to target "2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts," which he believes "would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws."

　　So what would it take for Musk to launch his third-party effort? Here's an overview.

　　Getting on the ballot

　　To start, Musk would have to get his party on the ballots in the states where he wants to compete -- each with its own process for qualifying.

　　In many states -- including Kentucky, where the race to fill retiring Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's open seat in 2026 is heating up -- a party-designated candidate must win a nomination from a state-recognized political party that has received a certain percentage of votes in the previous presidential election -- or else a candidate has to run as an independent or a write-in candidate.

　　In other states, the America Party's name itself could present a problem -- like in New York, wherestate lawprohibits political parties from having the word "American," or any part of it, as part of their party names, according to Election Law Blog.

　　Bankrolling these state-level efforts would take significant resources. Experts would be needed to navigate each state's election laws and political systems in order to identify and nominate promising candidates, and canvassers would have to gather thousands to tens of thousands of signatures for each candidate to get them on the ballot.

　　Traditionally, candidates and their parties spearhead these operations, working together to strategize signature-gathering, voter registration, and campaign fundraising and spending. But Musk's America Party is unlikely to become a certified political party anytime soon, because the Federal Election Commission, which reviews political organizations' qualification as political parties, has not been in quorum to do so since a commissioner resigned in April, leaving the agency with just three commissioners. FEC commissioners can only be appointed by President Trump himself.

　　It's not yet clear if Musk has filed any paperwork for his America Party, and an FEC spokesperson declined to comment on whether the agency has received any paperwork from Musk's team.

　　Going the PAC route

　　Faced with the long odds of gaining party certification, some election experts say that Musk, at least for the time being, could focus on House and Senate candidates through a super PAC.

　　That's because ballot access for congressional races is governed by the states -- not the federal government -- so the America Party could still put its designated candidates on the ballot without the FEC's certification, as long as they pass state qualifications.

　　And because super PACs are unconstrained by fundraising or spending limits, an America Party super PAC could be funded by unlimited donations from supporters including Musk himself, and could independently spend an unlimited amount of money in support of its candidates.

　　The only catch is that super PACs are unable to work directly with campaigns the way FEC-certified political parties can -- but election lawyer Matt Sanderson of Caplin and Drysdale told ABC News that the efficiency of a super PAC can actually outweigh the advantages of a political party.

　　"Form a super PAC, just call yourselves a political party -- that's not against the rules. The FEC blessing is not needed," said Sanderson, who was legal counsel for the No Labels movement during the 2024 election. "I actually don't think it makes a lick of sense in this day and age to try to form yourself as a national party committee."

　　"They can call themselves whatever they want," Sanderson said, explaining that the FEC doesn't prohibit a super PAC from calling itself a political party as long as it doesn't coordinate directly with campaigns. "Just skip right past this very cumbersome and not-all-that-beneficial process, hold themselves out as a political party, and move forward."

　　Joining forces

　　Additionally, Musk could enlist the help of existing third parties, like the Libertarian Party or the Green Party.

　　However, third parties historically have had little success in gaining office in the United States.

　　During the 2024 election, the centrist group No Labels led a third-party presidential movement but ended its efforts months before the Republican and Democratic national conventions, after failing to find their candidate before their self-imposed deadline.

　　Longstanding Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver ran in the 2024 presidential race but received less than 0.5% of the total vote.

　　Still, a possible collaboration could be in the works: Musk has been in touch with one-time Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who in recent days has spearheaded a third party centrist effort of his own, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.

　　Caleb Burns, an election lawyer at Wiley Rein, acknowledged the potential significance of obtaining an official party status through the FEC instead of bypassing that step with a super PAC -- stressing the role of a political party as a "brand for politicians."

　　"The success of any new political party will turn on whether there are sufficient candidates -- and, by extension, members of the public -- interested in aligning with that new brand," Burns said. "If the answer is yes, then it makes sense to do everything possible to enhance and promote that brand -- which means proceeding with the organizational and legal burdens necessary to create and formalize a new political party."

　　"The critical predicate, however, is the political question of whether or not there is sufficient interest in a new brand of politician," Burns said. "For that, it seems we will have to wait and see what Mr. Musk concludes."