LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Robert Kennedy Jr. campaign is suing the Nevada Secretary of State, alleging a “reinterpretation” of ballot access rules.
The campaign announced the lawsuit Monday afternoon. They allege that the Secretary of State approved a petition to get on the ballot without having named a Vice Presidential running-mate, but later reversed course, saying they must name a running mate for the petition to be valid.
“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.
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.”
The Secretary of State’s office said they gave plenty of notice about the requirement, and that the campaign has yet to even hit the deadline to submit a valid petition.
“In early March, the Secretary of State’s office sent guidance to all independent campaigns for president that had filed petitions for ballot access. This guidance highlighted the statutory requirements necessary for petitions to be valid. The guidance was sent well in advance of the deadline to submit signatures, which still has not passed. While some campaigns took the opportunity to refile petitions with our office, others did not.
Our office has received no official communication from Mr. Kennedy’s campaign since the time our office sent that guidance. Earlier today, the Kennedy campaign sent a letter threatening to sue the Secretary of State over ballot access. Secretary Aguilar issued the following statement:
“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.”
Our office will have no further comment.”
The deadline for the petition to be submitted to allow Kennedy and his now-named running-mate, Nicole Shanahan, is July 5.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
