Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a lawsuit against Nevada’s secretary of state over his interpretation of state laws regarding ballot access.
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar was named in the lawsuit because of his interpretation of a law that mandates a candidate must have a solidified running mate in their petition to run for office. The interpretation would require the Kennedy campaign, which has vowed to be on the ballot in all 50 states, to start over with its petition in Nevada.
“This is a clear case for the federal court to apply the doctrine of equitable estoppel to prohibit the Secretary of State from changing his mind after providing binding statutory instruction upon which the campaign properly relied to our detriment,” Kennedy campaign senior counsel Paul Rossi said.
“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,” he said.
Kennedy’s lawsuit is seeking an emergency injunction to block the enforcement of Aguilar’s interpretation of Nevada’s ballot laws for third-party candidates. The lawsuit argues that Nevada’s “ambiguous and conflicting” ballot rules are unconstitutional, as they place different standards on third-party candidates than they do for mainstream candidates.
“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. We look forward to seeing Mr. Kennedy’s team in court,” Aguilar said in a statement.
Earlier this year, without yet listing a running mate, the Kennedy campaign received approval from state officials to appear on the ballot, something the state has since called an “error.” The campaign has since announced Nicole Shanahan as Kennedy’s running mate.
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The campaign also said the petition form “provides only a single line for a single candidate.”
A late-April poll in Nevada showed Kennedy garnering 7.7% of the state’s support, with former President Donald Trump maintaining an edge over President Joe Biden in the key battleground state.
