'What a joke': Robert F Kennedy Jr's campaign mocked as it refiles signatures to appear on Nevada ballot

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr's campaign announced on Friday, July 5, that it had submitted a second set of 30,000 signatures in an attempt to secure a spot on the Nevada ballot ahead of the November election. 

This new submission comes after RFK Jr's initial batch of petitions was invalidated due to the absence of his running mate, Nicole Shanahan's name.

Robert F Kennedy Jr's campaign sues Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V Aguilar for rejecting initial batch of signatures 

RFK Jr's campaign maintains that Nevada's regulations do not mandate a running mate to be named on ballot petitions and has accused the Secretary of State Francisco V Aguilar of acting with "either rank incompetence or partisan political gamesmanship" while rejecting the initial submission.

A lawsuit initiated by the campaign against Aguilar, a Democrat, is currently awaiting a decision in federal court, as per the New York Post.

In a statement, RFK Jr's campaign attorney Paul Rossi said, "The voters of Nevada have, for a second time, demonstrated their enthusiasm and determination to place Kennedy on Nevada’s general election ballot." 

A spokesperson for Aguilar stated that voter registrars from all 22 counties in the state are given four business days to submit an initial count of signatures collected.

Should the total exceed the 10,095-signature threshold necessary for an independent candidate to qualify for the ballot, each county will receive instructions on the number of signatures that need verification for the petitions to be valid, a task that must be finalized within nine business days.

"Gathering signatures for a second time gave us a unique perspective," remarked Randell Hynes, the Nevada State Director for RFK Jr's campaign.

He added, "We learned many more Nevadans knew Kennedy was running. We also had hundreds of thousands of face-to-face conversations we would not have had otherwise."

The lawsuit was filed on Friday, two weeks after two Nevada voters, including a vice chair of the state Democratic Party, initiated legal action against Aguilar. They allege that RFK Jr does not qualify as a genuine "independent" candidate due to his acceptance of nominations from minor parties to secure ballot positions in other states.

The litigation is still active.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, RFK Jr is polling 7.8% in Nevada, trailing significantly behind Donald Trump at 43.8% and President Joe Biden at 38.8%.

Internet reacts as Robert F Kennedy Jr's campaign refiles signatures in Nevada

The RFK Jr campaign's resubmission of signatures for a renewed bid on the Nevada ballot ensued mockery. 

"I don’t vote for someone that eats dogs, or for someone with Dementia. Sooo Trump 2024 baby!!!" said a Trump supporter, invoking a claim that RFK Jr was seen taking a bite of a barbequed dog in a viral photo.

One claimed, "He’ll pull votes away from the democrat candidate," and another remarked, "What a joke he's a 🤡."

Many others poked fun at the independent presidential candidate using clown and laughing emojis. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.