Although Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Independent presidential candidate is expected to announce his running mate on Tuesday it does not appear that his request for ballot access to Nevada has been granted soon enough. The petition, despite having collected 15,000 Nevada voter signatures earlier this month – which is more than the required number to appear on the November ballot – may need to restart the signature collection effort. Kennedy’s Nevada petition only included him and did not include a running mate as required by Nevada presidential candidate guidelines.
As it celebrated its success in Nevada, the Kennedy campaign did not seem to be aware of this requirement.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Independent Presidential Candidate, announced today that the campaign had collected the signatures necessary to place “Bobby on the Ballot”.
In Nevada, the campaign has collected over 15,000 signatures. Kennedy is now on the ballot of one of the tightest-contested swing states, where Presidents Biden & Trump were separated by just a 2.39% margin in 2020.
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office sent a memo on March 7 to all independent presidential hopefuls. This was just two days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had announced that he had successfully collected the signatures required. The memo listed the required components for their filings at the office. It stated that candidates must submit a “declaration of candidacy” and a “petition of candidacy,” in which they must also name a vice president.
According to the Nevada Presidential Candidate Guide, independent candidates’ petitions must include the names of the vice-presidential and presidential candidates to be valid. The office provided documents that showed Kennedy had only listed himself on the petition.
After Kennedy announced his running mate, the campaign will have to collect new signatures. Kennedy will not be able to reach his goal of being on the ballot in all 50 states. However, there is time for Kennedy to correct this situation before Nevada’s August 7 filing deadline. Utah is currently the only state to confirm Kennedy’s place on the ballot. Independent candidates are subject to different rules in each state, which makes it difficult for them to get on the ballot.
The super PAC American Values 2024 committed to spending $10 to $15 million in December to help Kennedy collect signatures to gain access to the ballot. The Democratic National Committee, in February, filed a complaint at the Federal Election Commission accusing Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign, and American Values, of illegal collusion regarding ballot access. American Values 2024 then announced that they would stop collecting signatures on Kennedy’s behalf after reaching the required thresholds in Arizona, Michigan Georgia, and South Carolina.
In a recent press release, the PAC wrote that it would refocus its efforts.
We have stopped collecting signatures for any new states due to the success of the campaign. We will continue to fight against the [Democratic National Committee] and [Republican National Committee] whenever they attempt to interfere with the constitutional rights of American voters, who want independent candidates to be on the ballot.
The Kennedy campaign claimed it hadn’t yet submitted signatures to the Nevada Secretary of State.
