Kennedy Campaign Fires Back at Nevada SOS, DNC After 15,000 Signatures Invalidated, Threatens Lawsuit

As previously reported, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an Independent presidential candidate, faces a setback in Nevada despite collecting over 15,000 signatures, thus surpassing the required amount for ballot access.

The issue arises from the failure to list a running mate on the petition, as mandated by law and indicated in Nevada's guidelines for presidential candidates. This oversight necessitates restarting the signature-gathering process after Kennedy announces his pick for vice president, scheduled to be revealed on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Kennedy campaign fired back alleging the Nevada Secretary of State was conspiring with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to prevent his ballot access while calling the VP requirement an invention and stating it has "zero legal basis."
Kennedy campaign ballot access attorney Paul Rossi said,

After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada, the DNC Goon Squad and their lackeys in the Nevada Secretary of State’s office are outright inventing a new requirement for the petition with zero legal basis. The Nevada statute does not require the VP on the petition.

The Nevada statute that requires an independent candidate to declare their nominee for vice president became law in 1993.

Sec. 49. NRS 298.109 is hereby amended to read as follows:
298.109 1. A person who desires to be an independent candidate for the office of President of the United States must, not later than 5 p.m. on the second Friday in August in each year in which a presidential election is to be held, pay a filing fee of $250 and file with the secretary of state a declaration of candidacy and a petition of candidacy, in which he must also designate his nominee for Vice President. The petition must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to not less than 1 percent of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for candidates for the offices of Representative in Congress and must request that the names of the proposed candidates be placed on the ballot at the general election that year. The candidate shall file a copy of the petition he intends to circulate for signatures with the secretary of state.

Moreover, the Kennedy camp revealed that an employee in the Secretary of State's office confirmed that the petition did not require the inclusion of a running mate in an email on November 14, 2023.

Rossi said,

The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it. The state confirmed that the petition does not require a VP in writing on Nov. 14. The state approved our petition without a VP on it in writing on Jan. 9.

In response, officials with the Secretary of State’s office made a statement Monday afternoon that the inaccurate guidance from an employee at the office was “an error” that will be “handled appropriately.”

The SOS official said the error was not a reflection of alleged political bias in the office, writing,

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 official also called the state law "clear" and wrote that “governmental functions can’t be prevented by the conduct of statements of employees."

Kennedy's campaign wrote that it intends to sue and depose the Nevada Secretary of State, to "find out exactly which White House or DNC official concocted this scheme."

Read the full campaign statement:

Just one week after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he had collected all of the signatures needed to get on the ballot in Nevada, it was reported the DNC had hired an entire team devoted to keeping him off the ballot across the country.

Now, the day before Kennedy is set to announce his vice president, Nevada Secretary of State, Democrat Francisco Aguilar, is making a desperate attempt to invalidate the campaign’s signatures in the state.

"This is the epitome of corruption,” said Kennedy campaign ballot access attorney Paul Rossi.

“After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada, the DNC Goon Squad and their lackeys in the Nevada Secretary of State’s office are outright inventing a new requirement for the petition with zero legal basis. The Nevada statute does not require the VP on the petition. The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it. The state confirmed that the petition does not require a VP in writing on Nov. 14. The state approved our petition without a VP on it in writing on Jan. 9.”

“This assault on the democratic rights of millions of Americans in Nevada, and their freedom to vote for an independent candidate, embodies the corruption and depravity that has come to characterize the Democratic Party,” continued Rossi.

“This is the party that rigged the primary election against Bernie Sanders in 2016 and RFK Jr. in 2024. This is the party that canceled its own primary elections in multiple states this year and decreed Biden the winner without a vote. The DNC is spending millions of dollars in a frantic attempt to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they cannot defeat us in a fair election. They cannot face us in a contest of ideas. These are the death throes of a party that once stood for working people but has long since abandoned them to Wall Street, Big Pharma, Big Tech, and the endless war machine. The Democratic Party is the biggest threat to democracy in this country."

This corrupt attempt by the Nevada Secretary of State must be enjoined by a federal judge. The Kennedy campaign intends to depose the Secretary of State to find out exactly which White House or DNC official concocted this scheme.