State and national Democratic Party leaders are teaming up to force presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off ballots in Washington.
The Washington state Democratic Party planned to file an appeal Friday of the secretary of state’s determination that Kennedy qualified for the November ballot. He is one of nine minor party candidates approved for the ballot by state election officials Tuesday.
“We believe that the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign did not follow the rules. We do not believe they can prove that they did,” said Stephen Reed, communications director for the state party.
Party chair Shasti Conrad is the lead plaintiff in the legal challenge being filed in Thurston County Superior Court. The Democratic National Committee is covering the costs, Reed said.
Kennedy campaign officials did not respond to an email request for comment. On Friday, the campaign issued a press release updating its efforts to get Kennedy on ballots in all 50 states.
Washington state law says minor party presidential candidates can qualify by collecting signatures of at least 1,000 registered voters at one or more conventions. Those conventions must be held between the first Saturday in May and the fourth Saturday in July and a single convention can be a meeting of as few as 100 registered voters.
On Aug. 9, attorneys for the state Democratic Party urged the secretary of state to not certify Kennedy’s nomination, contending the 4,181 signatures submitted in June on his behalf were not collected at a legitimate party convention.
State law says an appeal of a secretary of state’s decision must be filed within five days and that any challenge “shall be heard and finally disposed of by the court within five days of the filing.”
