Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to file a lawsuit against the Nevada Secretary of State’s office after learning that his campaign would need to restart signature gathering in the state. The campaign initially collected over 15,000 signatures in Nevada in early March but was informed that a running mate needed to be named before starting the petition process for independent candidates. Despite a staffer wrongly informing the campaign that a vice-presidential pick was not required on the petition, the Secretary of State’s office maintains that Kennedy’s campaign received guidance that made the statutes clear and is prepared to face him in court.
With only a month left to gather new signatures, the campaign may run out of time to restart the process in Nevada if litigation is pursued and the case is lost. Kennedy’s lead ballot access attorney, Paul Rossi, sent a settlement letter to the Secretary of State’s office on May 23, proposing to drop any charges and avoid litigation costs in exchange for the validation of the signatures. Rossi suggested circulating the name of Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, in newspapers around the state to rectify the omission on the petition. A similar case occurred in 2008 when an initiative petition was deemed invalid by the Secretary of State’s office due to a violation of state guidelines.
Kennedy was not the only independent candidate facing challenges in Nevada, as Cornel West also had to restart the petition process in April after revealing his running mate, Melina Abdullah. The Secretary of State’s office had sent guidance to all independent presidential campaigns in early March, highlighting the statutory requirements necessary for valid petitions. Despite this, some campaigns failed to meet the requirements, prompting the need to start over. Prior to the settlement letter, the Secretary of State’s office had not heard from Kennedy’s campaign since March, when a memo for ballot access guidance was sent. Additionally, Kennedy’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing CNN, President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns of violating federal election law for not including him in the June 27 presidential debate.
In response to Kennedy’s lawsuit threat, the Nevada Secretary of State’s office is prepared to face him in court, emphasizing the importance of following the law for ballot access. The settlement proposed by Kennedy’s attorney offers a potential resolution to the issue by validating the signatures and correcting the omission of the running mate’s name on the petition. However, if the case proceeds to litigation, there may not be enough time left for the campaign to restart signature gathering in Nevada. Overall, the situation highlights the complexities and challenges faced by independent candidates in navigating state ballot access requirements.
