Nebraska Democratic Party tries to bar RFK Jr. from fall election • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Democratic Party filed an objection this week to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from appearing on the state’s fall ballot as an independent candidate for president.

In a Tuesday submissionThe party said Kennedy’s ticket “does not meet the legal requirements to constitute a nonpartisan ticket.” The party cited two reasons for its challenge: that Kennedy was a registered Democrat on March 1 and that the campaign’s “overall strategy” was to gain access to the ballot box “by whatever method they deem easiest.”

“Under Nebraska law, a truly impartial candidate “can bypass the primaries and still appear on the general election ballot,” the challenge said. “State law is clear on the requirements for the offices of president and vice president, in particular.”

In Nebraska, “nonpartisan” is a collective term for any voter without affiliation with one of the five recognized political parties. As of July 1, 22% of Nebraska voters were registered as ‘non-partisan’.

The Nebraska Democratic Party’s petition was filed by Alexander S. Arkfeld, the party’s attorney, on behalf of Jane Kleeb, the state party chair.

Partisan in some states, non-partisan in others

One of the Democratic Party’s chief complaints concerns Kennedy’s attempts to present himself as a nonpartisan candidate in some states while seeking a partisan label in others.

In Hawaii and North Carolina, his campaign led to the creation of a new party: the “We the People Party.”

Elsewhere, Kennedy’s campaign has attempted to gain access through the Libertarian Party of Colorado, the American Independent Party of California, the Independent Party of Delaware, the Reform Party of Florida, the Natural Law Party of Michigan and the Alliance Party of South Carolina.

“Even a cursory look at the platforms of these political parties reveals different and conflicting ideologies,” the challenge reads. “That is why the Kennedy campaign is attempting to circumvent Nebraska’s election law.”

Kennedy’s running mate is Nicole A. Shanahan, who said in mid-March that she also left the Democratic Party to join Kennedy.

The lawsuit is based on a handful of state laws, including one that allows any registered voter who was not a candidate in the primary election and who was not registered with a party on or after March 1 to conduct a petition drive for party office that fall.

Path for independent candidate

A second law, which applies only to presidential and vice presidential candidates, says that candidates “with nonpartisan status” must file an application and petition with the Nebraska secretary of state, signed by at least 2,500 registered voters, by Aug. 1 in a presidential election year. If it is valid, that ticket can appear on the presidential ballot.

Online, at the bottom of that law, there’s a note saying it’s unconstitutional as it relates to independent presidential and vice presidential candidates. That’s because of a 1977 case that started in Nebraska and went to the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals: MacBride v. Exon.

“The state has a perfectly legitimate and compelling interest in demanding a potential “A candidate who demonstrates, for example by presenting petitions, that his candidacy is not frivolous, that he is truly an independent candidate and that his candidacy enjoys a satisfactory level of popular support,” the court wrote in 1977.

At the time, the court ruled that there was no opportunity for an independent to run for office in Nebraska, a ruling that has since been changed.

Kennedy served in more than 5,000 signatures last month to the office of Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen as part of that process.

The Nebraska Democratic Party has filed a request Request for data dated July 12 with the request to check the signatures as soon as they became available.

The MacBride ruling is cited as a reason that the state should determine its own election procedures, but it does not address petitions as a way to prove a candidate’s legitimacy.

However, it appears that the filing goes against the case. another state law which excludes executive branch positions from the definition of “candidate” in state laws.

“Kennedy and Shanahan are seeking to gain access to the Nebraska general election ballot as nonpartisan candidates, pursuant to Section 32-620, the only law available to them for such purposes,” the filing states.

The Nebraska Democratic Party has asked Evnen to make a decision “as quickly as possible” but acknowledged that Kennedy’s campaign “must be given an opportunity to respond.”

“We propose that you set a seven-day deadline for the campaign to do this.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX

You May Also Like

More From Author