Kennedy Campaign Hits Major Milestone In Ballot Access Quest

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Brooklyn on May 1. Photo by Jason Schott.

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign announced major news in its quest to make the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia this November.

Early on Friday, it announced that the Reform Party received notice that the Florida Division of Elections recertified its party status to give Kennedy ballot access in the Sunshine State.

This comes two weeks after the Reform Party voted to nominate Kennedy, which gave him ballot access in Florida and a massive boost to fundraising efforts. Kennedy accepted their nomination and selected Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. (Please click here for our coverage from May 24).

Reform Party of Florida Chair Jennifer Desatoff said in a statement, "We're thrilled to give Floridians an independent option this November. We've been eagerly waiting to collaborate with the Kennedy Campaign here in Florida and make history together."

On Friday evening, the Kennedy campaign announced that it submitted the required signatures to gain ballot access in Minnesota. This pushed it over the top for eligibility for 270 electoral votes. (more on what that means deeper in this report).

Minnesota Volunteer Coordinator Shauna Miller said in a statement released by the Kennedy campaign, "Our volunteers - led by Mark Frascone and Dr. Drew Dietle - worked hard these past few weeks to ensure the North Star State has an independent option in November."

Volunteers traveled to St. Paul to deliver the 3,300 singatures to put Kennedy on the Minnesota ballot.

Nick Brana, Senior Advisor and Ballot Access Director, said in a statement, "This is a tremendous victory for the campaign and the thousands of volunteers nationwide who have hit the streets with clipboards in hand and canvassed America to put 'Bobby on the Ballot.' Come November, for the first time in decades, everyone across the country will have an independent choice who will end the wars, break up the corporate state, and make life affordable."

Florida marks the ninth state that the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket has officially made the ballot in, along with Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Texas, and South Carolina. Minnesota now makes it ten states that the Kennedy campaign has also collected enough signatures for ballot access, along with New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio. 

This news out of Florida and Minnesota means the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign has collected the signatures needed for ballot access in 19 states totaling 278 electoral votes - 52 percent of the 538 total electoral votes nationwide. 

The Kennedy campaign proclaimed this in the release accompanying the Minnesota news, "The number of electoral votes required to win the presidency is 270. The campaign's aggressive ballot access operation has surpassed all its milestones to ensure the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket will be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The ballot access operation is fully funded with more than $15 million raised."

It is also significant because it should mean that the Kennedy campaign has satisfied the requirement to make the CNN debate on June 27 that a candidate needs to be on the ballot in states comprising 270 electoral votes. On Wednesday, May 29, the Kennedy campaign filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint alleging CNN, President Biden, President Trump, and their campaigns have engaged in flagrant violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). To read our coverage, please click here.

KENNEDY BALLOT ACCESS MAP UPDATE:

From Kennedy24.com.