RFK Jr. Could Be Forced To Collect Nevada Signatures Again After Botching Forms
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to appear on the ballot in Nevada could be in jeopardy after he failed to include a potential vice president on his filing documents.
CBS first reported the potential snag on Monday, just a day before Kennedy is expected to announce his running mate on Tuesday at an event in Oakland, California. Nevada’s guidelines for presidential candidates require independent petitions to include the names of both a presidential and vice presidential pick before they begin collecting signatures in order for them to be valid. The news outlet confirmed those rules with the Nevada secretary of state’s office.
CBS obtained documents from the office that only display Kennedy’s name, which would appear to be a violation of state statutes.
The Kennedy campaign immediately lambasted the reports and accused the Democratic National Committee of conspiring to keep him off the ballot. There is no evidence to back up those claims.
“This is the epitome of corruption,” Paul Rossi, a lawyer for the campaign, said in a statement. “After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada, the DNC 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.”
“The Nevada statute does not require the VP on the petition,” Rossi continued. “The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it.”
"The DNC is spending millions of dollars in a frantic attempt to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they cannot defeat us in a fair election. They cannot face us in a contest of ideas. These are the death throes of a party that once stood for working people but has long since… https://t.co/hZgwvFKe9r
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) March 26, 2024
The attorney included an email thread with the secretary of state’s office in which the campaign was incorrectly told that a petition does not need a vice presidential candidate listed. CBS reported the secretary of state confirmed it made an error, but all independent candidates must still abide by Nevada statutes even amid the threat of a lawsuit from Kennedy and his team.
Kennedy has already garnered 15,000 signatures to appear on the Nevada ballot, but he could be forced to start that collection effort from scratch as those signatures could be declared void. He has until July 5 to submit a new batch and until Aug. 9 to refile his petition to appear on the presidential ballot.
Independent candidates face an uphill battle to appear on the ballot in states across the country. Each state has varying rules for how to do so, but about half require a candidate to designate their running mate before petitioning for access, The Associate Press reports.
Kennedy has already gained access to the ballot in Utah and he has said he has gained enough signatures to appear on a few others.
