RFK Jr. Campaign Sues Nevada Election Official Over Ballot Requirement As Push For Debate Stage Nears Eleventh Hour
ForbesMay 21
RFK Jr. Sues Nevada Secretary of State Over Ballot Access
Above: : Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention on May 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar over his refusal to certify the candidate's petition signatures, which are needed to get on the state's 2024 ballot.
While RFK Jr. didn't choose his now running mate Nicole Shanahan until March, his lawsuit claims that Aguilar's office approved his signatures in January. However, Aguilar's office in March still claimed that signatures were invalid.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Aguilar's about-face on this issue is purely political and has nothing to do with the law. After explicitly approving RFK Jr.'s ballot petition in January, and then issuing no concerns for two months, he abruptly changed his mind in March. Kennedy is a serious third-party contender whom some polls show beating both Biden and Trump one-on-one. If anyone has a right to be on the ballot it's the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket.
Pro-establishment narrative
Kennedy is omitting the fact that his campaign is deliberately taking a long time to file for ballots so that his competitors can't challenge his questionable petitions. For a candidate who says he's eager to get on the debate stage, it's very odd that he's so far only applied for a handful with the CNN debate just weeks away. He should know that ballot applications take time, but he's chosen to procrastinate and complain instead of starting early.