RFK Jr.'s signature on ballot may be invalid in Nevada without vice president
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to announce his running mate on Tuesday, but an unforeseen problem in Nevada means that the independent, who had been seen as a strong candidate, will have to wait until he gains voting rights in the silver state. The path is getting complicated.
Kennedy's choice for vice president is because a running mate is needed to qualify for voting in multiple states. And despite the campaign, announcement Earlier this month, Nevada celebrated collecting 15,000 signatures, which exceeds the number of signatures needed to get on the November ballot, but Kennedy failed to name a running mate when he filed his petition. , the state may have to start gathering signatures from scratch. , according to documents filed by Kennedy.
of nevada presidential candidate guide The Nevada Secretary of State's Office confirmed that it states that for an independent candidate's petition to be valid, the petition must include the names of both the presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate.
Documents requested from the Nevada office revealed that Kennedy listed only his own name on the petition., In violation of the rules, signatures collected by his campaign in the state were invalidated.
The setback moves Kennedy one step further from his goal of securing ballots in all 50 states, but the campaign still has time to gather new signatures if Kennedy's running mate is named Tuesday. . The deadline to file a petition in Nevada is August 7th.
The Kennedy campaign said it has not yet submitted the signatures to the Nevada office.
The campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Where is Kennedy on the ballot?
The only state to confirm that Kennedy is on the ballot is Utah. Laws for independent candidates to appear on the ballot vary from state to state, making voting one of the most difficult parts of campaigning for candidates who are not affiliated with a major party.
In New Hampshire, independent candidates must submit a declaration of intent during the June filing period before submitting at least 3,000 signatures to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office.
Hawaii's Department of Elections confirms that Kennedy supporters have collected enough signatures to form the We the People party, which will be able to put Kennedy on the ballot as its presidential candidate. . New Hampshire and Hawaii also require Kennedy to name a running mate before he can vote in either state.
It's unclear whether signatures collected in other states that require independent presidential candidates to have a designated running mate to access the ballot will also be affected.
American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy, is helping collect signatures for ballot access and announced in December that it planned to spend $10 million to $15 million on the effort. But in February, Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against President Kennedy independent presidential campaign American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Mr. Kennedy, claimed that the two parties illegally colluded to access Mr. Kennedy's ballot.
American Values 2024 announced it would no longer collect signatures to access the ballot on his behalf in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina after the signature threshold was met.
The PAC is now redirecting its efforts to counter Democratic and Republican efforts to undermine third-party campaigns.
“Given the success of our campaign, we will no longer collect signatures in other states and will continue our fight.” [Democratic National Committee] or [Republican National Committee] When they seek to interfere with the constitutional rights of American voters who overwhelmingly want independent candidates on the ballot,” the PAC said in a statement. press release Early this month.
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office sent a memo to all independent presidential candidates petitioning for ballot access on March 7, two days after Mr. Kennedy announced that his campaign had reached the signature threshold. It was announced that the documents submitted must contain the following contents: “Declaration of candidacy and petition for candidacy. In it, the candidate for vice president must also be nominated.”
For major political parties, vice presidential candidates are traditionally announced near the nominating convention, and the presidential and vice presidential candidates formally accept the party's nomination at the party convention. The Democratic National Convention will be held from August 19th to 24th, and the Republican National Convention will be held from July 15th to 18th.
Summarize this content to 100 words Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to announce his running mate on Tuesday, but an unforeseen problem in Nevada means that the independent, who had been seen as a strong candidate, will have to wait until he gains voting rights in the silver state. The path is getting complicated.Kennedy's choice for vice president is because a running mate is needed to qualify for voting in multiple states. And despite the campaign, announcement Earlier this month, Nevada celebrated collecting 15,000 signatures, which exceeds the number of signatures needed to get on the November ballot, but Kennedy failed to name a running mate when he filed his petition. , the state may have to start gathering signatures from scratch. , according to documents filed by Kennedy. of nevada presidential candidate guide The Nevada Secretary of State's Office confirmed that it states that for an independent candidate's petition to be valid, the petition must include the names of both the presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate.
Documents requested from the Nevada office revealed that Kennedy listed only his own name on the petition., In violation of the rules, signatures collected by his campaign in the state were invalidated.The setback moves Kennedy one step further from his goal of securing ballots in all 50 states, but the campaign still has time to gather new signatures if Kennedy's running mate is named Tuesday. . The deadline to file a petition in Nevada is August 7th.
The Kennedy campaign said it has not yet submitted the signatures to the Nevada office.The campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Where is Kennedy on the ballot?The only state to confirm that Kennedy is on the ballot is Utah. Laws for independent candidates to appear on the ballot vary from state to state, making voting one of the most difficult parts of campaigning for candidates who are not affiliated with a major party.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poses with supporters during a post-voter meet-and-greet at the St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 10, 2024.
Emily Elkonin/Getty Images
In New Hampshire, independent candidates must submit a declaration of intent during the June filing period before submitting at least 3,000 signatures to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office.
Hawaii's Department of Elections confirms that Kennedy supporters have collected enough signatures to form the We the People party, which will be able to put Kennedy on the ballot as its presidential candidate. . New Hampshire and Hawaii also require Kennedy to name a running mate before he can vote in either state.It's unclear whether signatures collected in other states that require independent presidential candidates to have a designated running mate to access the ballot will also be affected.American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy, is helping collect signatures for ballot access and announced in December that it planned to spend $10 million to $15 million on the effort. But in February, Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against President Kennedy independent presidential campaign American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Mr. Kennedy, claimed that the two parties illegally colluded to access Mr. Kennedy's ballot. American Values 2024 announced it would no longer collect signatures to access the ballot on his behalf in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina after the signature threshold was met. The PAC is now redirecting its efforts to counter Democratic and Republican efforts to undermine third-party campaigns.”Given the success of our campaign, we will no longer collect signatures in other states and will continue our fight.” [Democratic National Committee] or [Republican National Committee] When they seek to interfere with the constitutional rights of American voters who overwhelmingly want independent candidates on the ballot,” the PAC said in a statement. press release Early this month.The Nevada Secretary of State's Office sent a memo to all independent presidential candidates petitioning for ballot access on March 7, two days after Mr. Kennedy announced that his campaign had reached the signature threshold. It was announced that the documents submitted must contain the following contents: “Declaration of candidacy and petition for candidacy. In it, the candidate for vice president must also be nominated.”
For major political parties, vice presidential candidates are traditionally announced near the nominating convention, and the presidential and vice presidential candidates formally accept the party's nomination at the party convention. The Democratic National Convention will be held from August 19th to 24th, and the Republican National Convention will be held from July 15th to 18th.
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Alison Novello
Allison Novello is CBS News' 2024 campaign reporter.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-ballot-signatures-nevada/ RFK Jr.'s signature on ballot may be invalid in Nevada without vice president