In 57 days, American voters will get to choose between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

One of those two men will be the next president of the United States. That much we know.

But there is another person that might decide whether Obama is given another four years or if we turn to Romney to lead us.

No, it isn’t Vice President Biden or VP nominee Congressman Ryan.  It isn’t former Presidents Clinton or Bush. And the person who could tip the Electoral College balance isn’t a media figure like Bill O’Reilly or Rachel Maddow.  The man is Virgil H. Goode Jr. and you probably never heard of him.

Virgil Goode is the nominee for President with the conservative Constitution Party in 2012.

He will be listed third on the official ballot of his home state of Virginia.  Maybe.

More on his fight to remain on that ballot later.

America has a recent history of fairly well known third party candidates such as Ralph Nader, Ross Perot or Ron Paul who usually bring national followings.

According to his website, Goode is on the ballot in at least 21 states, and awaiting official decisions in a few more.  But his polling numbers in every state but Virginia are practically nil.  In the battleground state of Virginia however, Virgil Goode is polling between 5-9 percent.  His support is strongest in the western part of the state, where Goode served for 24 years in the Virginia State Senate and another 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

President Obama was the first Democratic Presidential nominee to win Virginia in 44 years, beating John McCain by 6 points.

But most polls show a closer race this time around, with the most recent Rasmussen data pointing to a 47-47 tie when voters were given the choice of the two leading candidates.

With the recent news that Romney and conservative groups like Crossroads GPS have pulled ads in two states that were once considered key battlegrounds, winning Virginia has become crucial to Republican victory in November.

Pennsylvania and Mitt Romney’s home state of Michigan will no longer get to enjoy the TV ads that voters will see in Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Ohio and maybe Wisconsin.

Both candidates recently visited Iowa and New Hampshire because both of those states are still in play, but that’s it.

For the most part, Presidents are elected in all-or-nothing state by state elections in the Electoral College.  We know that Romney isn’t going to win California, and Obama won’t win Oklahoma.  In fact, there’s no mystery in most of the country.  And if the name Virgil Goode remains on the Virginia Presidential ballot, Romney will lose the state to Obama.

The voters of Virginia, especially in the western portion of the state, know Goode and view him as a true conservative.

Even if he siphons only 2-3 points from Mitt Romney it could be the difference in this state, and depending on what happens in the few other battleground states, could hand Obama the presidency.  The state Republican Party is alleging petition fraud and challenging Goode’s eligibility, so the Constitution Party’s nominee still could be knocked off the ballot.

According to state rules, the person who will decide if Virginia voters get to see the name Virgil Goode Jr. on their ballots is the Virginia State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II.

“The Cooch” has already come out publicly in support of Mitt Romney, but he says politics won’t play a part in his decision.

Compared to other states, Virginia sets the bar high for inclusion onto presidential ballots.  Notice that even a few months ago in the Republican primary only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney met the threshold.

Big money candidates like Santorum and Gingrich did not make it.  Virginia rules state that candidates must collect 10,000 signatures, including at least 400 from each of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts.  It’s easy to see why the left-leaning Green Party helped him obtain more than twice as many signatures.  And it’s apparent why the GOP wants to have his name removed from the ballot.

How will this end?  Most likely Cuccinelli will act in the best interest of his candidate of choice and trump up some charges as a cover to erase Goode from the Virginia Presidential ballot.

Anyone who has followed the path of Ron Paul this year knows how the GOP handles people they view as outsiders.

But it’s still interesting that over a billion dollars will have been spent before November 6 by the major parties and the Super PACs, but our next President could be decided by a candidate who won’t accept any contribution larger than $200.

William Joseph writes from Roanoke Rapids