The Nevada Democratic Party is taking legal action to prevent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot. They claim that Kennedy’s association with other political parties goes against Nevada’s requirements for independent candidates. If successful, this case could set a precedent for keeping Kennedy off the ballot in other states with similar laws.
According to Nevada law, independent candidates running for partisan office cannot be affiliated with a political party. The lawsuit argues that Kennedy’s campaign violates this law since he is a registered Democrat in New York and has accepted nominations from various minor parties in other states. Kennedy is running as the nominee of the We the People Party in Hawaii and North Carolina, on the American Independent Party ticket in California, for the Natural Law Party in Michigan, and the Reform Party in Florida.
The Nevada Democratic Party, along with the Democratic National Committee, has gathered two plaintiffs, a registered Republican and a registered Democrat, to file the lawsuit against both the Kennedy campaign and the Nevada secretary of state. They are requesting the court to direct the secretary of state to exclude Kennedy from the ballot.
Kennedy, known for promoting false vaccine conspiracies, could potentially disrupt the 2024 race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. His polling numbers in Nevada are significant, possibly impacting the final election results.
Nevada Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett stated that Kennedy’s partisan affiliations disqualify him from being on Nevada’s presidential ballot. The lawsuit is not the first legal challenge Kennedy’s campaign has faced in Nevada regarding ballot access.
Kennedy had initially submitted a petition to appear on the Nevada ballot, but the signatures were deemed invalid by the secretary of state’s office. The campaign had to refile a new petition and collect signatures again before the deadline. Kennedy’s ballot access strategy differs from that of Ross Perot, who ran as a nonpartisan independent candidate in all 50 states in 1992.
Kennedy’s legal battles over ballot access in Nevada are ongoing, with a federal court case still pending. The campaign is working to meet the state’s requirements to ensure Kennedy’s name is on the ballot for the upcoming election.
The story was updated to correct information about the states where Kennedy is running as the We the People Party nominee and clarify that the secretary of state’s office did not reject Kennedy’s petition.
