PROVIDENCE –– Ralph Nader, the onetime consumer advocate and perennial presidential candidate, filed petitions yesterday with the signatures needed to qualify for the Rhode Island presidential ballot as an independent.

Nader, 74, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2000 and 2004, submitted 2,000 signatures of registered voters yesterday. State certification of 1,000 valid signatures is necessary to qualify for a spot on Rhode Island’s presidential ballot for the November general election, said Chris Barnett, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office.

A lawyer and well-known consumer advocate and critic of the automobile industry, Nader announced his candidacy on Feb. 24 on the NBC television show Meet the Press. His running mate is Matt Gonzalez, 40, of San Francisco. Gonzalez is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of that city.

The Nader campaign released the names of four Rhode Islanders who would serve as Electoral College representatives should he win the state and its four electoral votes. Benjamin Leblanc of East Greenwich, Dennis Lombardi of Newport, Helen Vaughn of Newport and Jaime Johnson of Providence are Nader’s elector candidates.

— SCOTT MacKAY