Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign has announced that he will take legal action against Nevada regarding his petition to run as an independent candidate. This comes after CBS News reported that the signatures he collected might be deemed invalid due to the absence of a vice presidential candidate on his petition.
The Kennedy campaign argued that the Democratic Party had created a new rule to nullify his Nevada signatures. However, since 1993, Nevada has had a requirement for an independent candidate’s petition to include the name of a vice presidential candidate.
Paul Rossi, the attorney for Kennedy ballot access, expressed his frustration over the actions of the DNC Goon Squad and the Nevada Secretary of State’s office. According to Rossi, after gathering all the necessary signatures in Nevada, these entities are creating a new requirement for the petition without any legal basis. He pointed out that the Nevada statute does not mandate the inclusion of the Vice President on the petition, and the petition itself doesn’t even provide a space for the Vice President’s information.
Rossi expressed his strong objection to the Nevada Secretary of State’s corrupt attempt and emphasized the need for a federal judge to intervene. He further stated that the Kennedy campaign plans to depose the Secretary of State in order to uncover the identity of the individual from the White House or DNC who devised this scheme.
Rossi also provided a link to an email exchange on November 14th between the campaign and the secretary of state’s office. In the email, the office mistakenly stated that the petition did not need to include a named running mate.
In an email exchange, a Kennedy ballot access manager inquired about whether the vice presidential candidate needed to be included on the petition forms. The office staffer responded by directing the campaign to refer to the petition format on page 5 of the state’s petition guide. Additionally, Rossi provided a link to the Jan. 9 correspondence from the secretary of state’s office, which approved Kennedy’s petition.
Nevada statutes have a different approach compared to this. According to the statutes, in an independent candidate’s petition of candidacy, they are required to designate a nominee for Vice President as well.
Documents obtained from the Nevada office revealed that Kennedy violated the rules by only listing himself, without a running mate, on his candidate petition. This violation could potentially invalidate the signatures collected in the state.
The staff of the secretary of state’s office admitted that they had given incorrect information to Kennedy.
In a recent development, our office was made aware of an incident where a Secretary of State employee had mistakenly provided incorrect guidance to an independent presidential campaign. We acknowledge this error and assure you that it will be addressed accordingly. It is important to note that the initial mistake and the subsequent statutory guidance were not intended to favor or harm any political party or candidate for office, as stated in our official statement to CBS News.
The office, however, emphasized that it is the responsibility of Kennedy’s campaign to adhere to the statute, despite the mistake.
According to the office, if a government agency provides a vague or incorrect response to a question posed by a member of the public, Nevada courts have made it clear that the agency cannot adhere to the employee’s statements if doing so would contradict the law.
Kennedy has currently secured a spot on the ballot in Utah, with his campaign claiming that they have gathered sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot in various other states as well. On Tuesday, Kennedy intends to announce his running mate in Oakland.
