Nevada Secretary of State confirms mistake made in instructions to RFK Jr.’s campaign
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got some bad information from the Nevada Secretary of State’s (NVSOS) office. But it is his campaign’s responsibility to follow the law regardless, the state has informed him.
Lawyers for RFK Jr.’s campaign are in a dispute with Nevada over his eligibility to appear on the November ballot. And now Nevada Secretary of State Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar’s office has admitted to 8 News Now that a clerk’s answers to RFK Jr.’s campaign contained errors.
“Earlier today it was brought to the attention of our office that a Secretary of State employee had provided inaccurate guidance to an independent presidential campaign. This was an error, and will be handled appropriately. In no way was the initial error or subsequent statutory guidance made with intent to benefit or harm any political party or candidate for office,” according to a March 25 statement.
At issue is Nevada’s law requiring the name of a vice presidential candidate on the ballot access initiative. Nevada statute clearly states the requirement, but Kennedy’s campaign was told otherwise by a staffer at the Secretary of State’s office at the beginning of the process to circulate petitions. His attorneys also point to paperwork to file the petition. “The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it,” according to Kennedy campaign ballot access attorney Paul Rossi.
The Secretary of State’s Office counters:
NRS 298.109 contains a clear legal requirement for independent candidates for president. Any “person who desires to be an independent candidate for the office of President of the United States must … file with the Secretary of State a declaration of candidacy and a petition of candidacy, in which the person must also designate a nominee for Vice President.” In addition to referencing this statute, the campaign guide also clearly states that our office does not approve the legality of the petition language or the petition form. The SOS office also provided additional guidance clearly and in writing to each of the independent presidential campaigns on March 7th.
NVSOS refers questions about the problem to its Presidential Candidate Guide for election year 2024. But it quickly points out the guide “is for general information only and does not have the force and effect of Nevada law, regulation, or rule.”
Also, a March 7 memo emphasizes that questions regarding signature verification shouldn’t go to NVSOS. “Any questions about signature verification should be directed to the county clerks and/or your own attorney.”
The problem came to light in late March, the day before Kennedy named Silicon Valley attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his choice for VP.
Now the question is whether the signatures submitted in Kennedy’s petition will be accepted. The deadline for the petition to be filed is Aug. 9, so the campaign still has time if the decision is made to pursue signatures again.
“This is the epitome of corruption,” Rossi said in a news release from Kennedy’s campaign.
“After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada, the DNC (Democratic National Committee) Goon Squad and their lackeys in the Nevada Secretary of State’s office are outright inventing a new requirement for the petition with zero legal basis,” Rossi said.
Aguilar is a Democrat.
“This corrupt attempt by the Nevada Secretary of State must be enjoined by a federal judge. The Kennedy campaign intends to depose the Secretary of State to find out exactly which White House or DNC official concocted this scheme,” according to Kennedy’s campaign.
Kennedy’s campaign presents a threat to President Joe Biden’s chances of beating former President Donald Trump again. Polls in Nevada showed that some Biden voters would support Kennedy in a race that’s already tight, with Biden trailing Trump slightly in a head-to-head matchup.
A March 20 Emerson College Polling/KLAS-TV/The Hill survey showed that Trump leads a head-to-head matchup in Nevada 43.9% to Biden’s 41.2%. But add in other candidates and it changes things: Trump at 41.0%, Biden at 36.0% and Kennedy at 8.8%.
The petition submitted to NSOS by Kennedy’s campaign carries only his name. And there is, in fact, no spot on the petition form for a vice presidential candidate.
But if a mistake was made, by a staffer in the Secretary of State’s office, it doesn’t mean Nevada statute will be ignored.
A memo issued March 7 by Mark Wlaschin, Deputy Secretary of State for Elections, suggests that’s a matter for the courts. “… the Secretary of State does not approve the legality of the petition language or the petition form,” according to the memo. “The example general form for independent petitions of candidacy is provided as guidance only.”
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