RFK Jr. Clears ‘Nightmare’ Electoral Hurdles

The Dallas Express reports:  

Presidential aspirant Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed to have made electoral history in Texas at a rally in Austin on Monday.

Just a few blocks from the Capitol at Brazos Hall, Kennedy said, “We had a historic today in Texas. We handed in just under 250,000 signatures. That is more than any other presidential candidacy in the history of Texas and in the history of our country.”

Since he is an independent presidential contender, Kennedy is required by Texas law to overcome a high burden to be placed on the state’s general election ballot. Part of the burden stems from the requirement that independent presidential candidates acquire 113,151 signatures on a petition to appear on the ballot, according to Ballotpedia.

Ballot access expert Richard Winger previously called Texas’ ballot access restrictions a “nightmare” during an appearance on RFK Jr.’s podcast.

“First of all, [Texas] has one of the earliest petition deadlines: May. Almost all states have their deadlines in August,” Winger later elaborated on the Cowtown Caller podcast. “Second, Texas is the only state where a person can’t sign the petition for an independent candidate if that person voted in the March primaries.”

Winger went on to explain that this forces petitioners to find new voters or people who did not vote in the primary to get legally valid signatures. This can disqualify “maybe a third” of potential signatories, he added.

He further noted that Texas provides an extremely short period of time to gather the requisite signatures.

“Texas is the worst state in the country for someone running for president outside the major parties,” Winger concluded.

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