Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has drafted a lawsuit against Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, alleging that incorrect information provided by Aguilar’s office jeopardized his bid to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate in the Silver State.
In March, the Kennedy campaign announced it had collected over 15,000 signatures in Nevada and introduced Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. Yet, because Shanahan was not on the petition, the signatures were deemed invalid.
The campaign now faces a tight deadline until Friday, August 9, to collect the necessary signatures to secure a place on the November ballot. The Secretary of State’s office acknowledged their error following the March announcement from the campaign.
Despite this admission, Aguilar expressed readiness to contest the matter in court.
“Nevada has a rich history of independent and third-party candidates for office. Each of those candidates managed to attain ballot access by following the law,” Aguilar stated to CBS News. “We look forward to seeing Mr. Kennedy’s team in court.”
Despite this setback, the Kennedy campaign has gathered enough signatures to appear on the Utah ballot. The super PAC supporting Kennedy, American Values 2024, claims to have secured sufficient signatures for him to appear on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and South Carolina.
The PAC has also announced plans to spend an additional $10-$15 million on signature collection efforts in other states.
However, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging illegal collusion between the Kennedy campaign and American Values 2024 regarding ballot access.
The core issue remains that a staffer from the Nevada Secretary of State’s office incorrectly advised the Kennedy campaign that he did not need to list a vice presidential candidate on the petition to qualify for the ballot, despite state law requiring independent candidates to include their running mate.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
Leave a comment