Nevada election officials certify enough signatures for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to appear on ballot
RENO, Nevada — Nevada election officials have verified enough signatures to allow Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to appear on the Nevada ballot, the state’s top election official confirmed Friday. his rebellious quest to change the dominance of the Republicans and Democrats in the American elections in a crucial state at stake.
Kennedy has gained popularity with a famous name and a loyal baseand he has the potential to do better than any independent presidential candidate in decades. Strategists from both major parties fear he could swing the election against them, though a major blow to his campaign came when he failed to qualify for the CNN debate in June. Instead a separate event was held in which he responded in real time to questions posed to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
There may still be room for legal challenges. Last month, Democrats filed a lawsuit at the state and national levels challenging Kennedy Jr. standing on the Nevada ballot as an independent because of his ties to political parties in other states.
The verified signatures came from a petition the Kennedy Jr. campaign submitted as soon as possible after the office of Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar clarified guidelines that would likely invalidate his original petition because he had not named a running mate.
The campaign had filed a lawsuit to Aguilar’s office over the state’s requirement that independent candidates name their running mate by the time they begin collecting signatures. The campaign said it received approval from Aguilar’s office in January, allowing it to collect the required number of signatures for a petition that did not mention his vice presidential nomination.
Aguilar’s office said in a statement that it had sent appropriate guidance to all independent candidates who filed ballot access petitions “well in advance of the deadline for submitting signatures.”
Kennedy Jr. chose California attorney and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in late March.
State and county election officials have verified more than 22,000 signatures on the new petition, well over the required 10,000.