Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin qualified to appear on general election ballots in Louisiana and Iowa late Friday. The former House Republican Conference policy director will now appear on four ballots, including Utah and Colorado.

McMullin's campaign chose to pay the $500 qualifying fee to make the Pelican State's ballot rather than gathering 5,000 signatures, as did several other third party candidates who will be on the ballot. In battleground state Iowa, McMullin submitted 2,800 signatures, more than 1,300 above the 1,500 requirement.


"They brought in their paperwork 11 minutes before the deadline," Kevin Hall, communications director with the Iowa state department's office said in a statement to Politico. "They turned in a lot more signatures than they needed."

McMullin is a former CIA agent and has touted his national security expertise throughout his two-week campaign. The presidential hopeful announced his campaign as another option for Americans who do not want to support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican nominee Donald Trump.

McMullin is eligible to qualify as an independent candidate on an additional 10 state ballots. The next ballot filing date is Monday for Oregon, which requires 17,000 signatures, McMullin's biggest challenge yet.