A 35-year-old man in Texas, US, has legally changed his name to “Literally Anybody Else” and entered the US 2024 presidential election race.
Why did he change his name?
Dustin Ebey said he changed his name in a move to express his dissatisfaction with the present candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden. In an interaction with news outlet WFAA88, Ebay said, “It’s not necessarily about me as a person, but it’s about literally anybody else as an idea.”
Talking about Trump and Biden being in the race, he said that there are three hundred million people who can do better. He added that there should be some outlet for individuals like himself who feel fed up with the perpetual power struggle between the two political parties, which seemingly brings in no advantages for the average citizen.
‘Literally Anybody Else’
Ebey, ‘Literally Anybody Else’, is a US army veteran and a seventh-grade math teacher in the suburbs of Dallas. He said that his name change was approved by a judge. He has since acquired an official driver’s license reflecting his new name. As per the state law, Ebey requires 113,000 signatures from non-primary voters in Texas by May to have his new name included on ballots.
Acknowledging the improbability, the 35-year-old said he is “not delusional”. Therefore, he has shifted his focus to encouraging individuals to write in his name on their ballot papers.
“My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and then Literally Anybody Else right underneath,” he said.
He further said that this also helps fill in the gap where people do not have a ‘neither’ option on the ballot.
“We don’t have a ‘neither’ option on the ballot, and this kind of fills that role,” he added. Ebey has initiated a GoFundMe page to finance his campaign, amassing a mere $280 so far.
In a statement published on his website, Ebey wrote, “Literally Anybody Else isn’t a person, it’s a rally cry.” He further wrote that the American people must not have to chose between “the ‘King of Debt’ (his self-declaration) and an 81-year old”.
“For too long have Americans been a victim of its political parties putting party loyalty over governance. Together let’s send the message to Washington and say, ‘You will represent or be replaced.’”