Ballot Access Breaking News: Kennedy Submits Signatures to Qualify for the Ballot in Washington State and Is Officially on the Ballot in Mississippi

By Leah Watson, Breaking News Reporter, The Kennedy Beacon

With just days remaining before the June 20 qualifying deadline for the first presidential debate on CNN, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has submitted enough signatures to make it on the ballot in Washington State – and his party, We the People, has officially made the ballot in Mississippi. 

As part of its stated requirements to be on the debate stage, CNN has said candidates must be able to garner at least 270 electoral votes from the states where they are on the ballot.

Kennedy is officially on the ballot in nine states: Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Texas, South Carolina, Florida, and now Mississippi. Additionally, the campaign claims it has fulfilled signature requirements in 14 additional states: New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Alaska, Tennessee, and most recently Washington. 

In the states where Kennedy is officially on the ballot, he is eligible for 174 electoral votes, and in the other states where he has met the requirements he is eligible for 136 additional votes, for a total of 310, as shown on the following map from the 270toWin website. 

States in beige represent where Kennedy is officially on the ballot. States in yellow represent where Kennedy has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The Kennedy Beacon expects more ballot access announcements before CNN’s June 20 deadline to meet its qualification.

On June 14, Kennedy announced that his campaign had submitted enough signatures for ballot access in Washington state. Kennedy submitted 4,181 signatures and filed to represent the We the People party in the November election.

According to the Washington State Standard, Kennedy is the first minor candidate in Washington to submit the required paperwork in addition to the minimum requirement of 1,000 signatures from registered voters. 

“We look forward to helping get Mr. Kennedy elected as president so he can bring back the American dream and inspire better human and environmental health for generations to come,” said Washington State Regional Coordinator Bonnie Gerber, quoted in Team Kennedy’s press release. 

On June 17, a campaign press release revealed that Kennedy’s We the People party is officially on the ballot in Mississippi and will be nominating Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, later this month. Now that Kennedy is aligning with the We The People party, he does not have to submit as many signatures as would be required for an unaffiliated candidate to get on the ballot in Mississippi.

“We look forward to nominating Kennedy… We need a leader who will protect what matters most — our children. He’s the breath of fresh air that Mississippi desperately needs,” said Chair of the Mississippi We the People Party Melisha Dooley, quoted in Team Kennedy’s press release.

Kennedy has argued that, technically, neither Trump nor Biden has any electoral college votes, as they are only the presumptive nominees of their respective parties. According to the Kennedy campaign, the Federal Election Commission agreed with that argument. 

CNN also requires all participating debaters to receive at least 15% favorability in four separate reputable polls. The network finalized these requirements on June 15, adding that it’s “not impossible” for Kennedy to meet these standards and join the incumbent and Trump on the debate stage.