By Jessica Hill
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(Las Vegas Review Journal) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign is seeking relief against a state law requiring him to have named his vice presidential candidate when gathering signatures to appear on Nevada’s ballot in November.
The campaign filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada against Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, accusing his office of violating the U.S. Constitution by requiring independent presidential candidates to name their vice presidential pick in petitions for ballot access earlier than the candidates of major parties.
“The court must prohibit what was either rank incompetence or partisan political gamesmanship by the Secretary from invalidating petition signatures afforded the highest First Amendment protection by the United States Supreme Court,” said Kennedy Campaign Senior Counsel Paul Rossi in a Monday statement.
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Kennedy’s efforts to appear on Nevada’s ballots marks the independent presidential candidate’s latest quest to appear on the ballot in all 50 states, a difficult feat for independent candidates. He is on the ballot in eight states and has collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot in nine other states, according to his campaign.
His campaign had announced in early March it collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot in Nevada. State law, however, requires independent presidential candidates to also list their vice presidential pick. Kennedy announced his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, in late March.
On March 7, the secretary of state’s office sent a memo to all independent candidates regarding the requirements to file in Nevada, including the law specific to independent presidential candidates requiring that they submit their declaration of candidacy and a petition of candidacy that includes the vice presidential nominee.
Kennedy’s campaign provided a screenshot of a November 2023 email from an employee in the secretary of state’s office who had incorrectly said it was not necessary to include the vice presidential nominee in the petition. The secretary of state’s office later said that was an error and would be handled.
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“In no way was the initial error or subsequent statutory guidance made with intent to benefit or harm any political party or candidate for office,” the office had said in an earlier statement in March.
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The secretary of state’s office also said the guidance it sent out was well in advance of the deadline to submit signatures, which is July 5. Some campaigns refiled petitions with the office, while others did not, the office said in a statement.
“Nevada has a rich history of independent and third party candidates for office,” Aguilar said in a statement. “Each of those candidates managed to attain ballot access by following the law. We look forward to seeing Mr. Kennedy’s team in court.”
The complaint
Kennedy’s campaign argues the rule requiring independent candidates to name their vice-presidential running mates is in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Requiring an independent candidate to name a vice presidential candidate this early in the election cycle places “severe burdens” on the independent candidate and not the candidates for a major political party, the campaign argues.
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Team Kennedy alleges Nevada statutes impose conflicting requirements with respect to whether a petition for an independent presidential candidate may include the vice presidential candidate.
It argues that the blank form of the petition published by the secretary of state’s office provides only a single line for one candidate and does not indicate multiple offices are mentioned. It also alleges that the secretary of state’s “State of Nevada Presidential Candidate Guide — 2024” provides no guidance to name a vice presidential candidate on the petition.
As late as March 15, the secretary of state’s office filed and approved a petition by independent presidential candidate Cornel West that also did not name a vice presidential candidate.
The campaign argues that even if Aguilar’s interpretation is correct, the requirement to name a vice presidential candidate this early in the election cycle is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
In addition to relief from the law requiring it to have gathered signatures with a petition using including the vice presidential pick, the campaign also requests relief against the $250 filing fee imposed on independent presidential candidates, according to the lawsuit.
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