Breaking News: Kennedy Has Gathered Enough Signatures to Qualify for the Nebraska Ballot

By Leah Watson, The Kennedy Beacon

Nebraskans could have another candidate to choose from in the upcoming presidential election. On April 9, the Kennedy campaign announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has collected 4,800 signatures, almost double the number required to qualify for the Nebraska ballot.

In addition to Nebraska, Kennedy has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Idaho. He is only officially on the ballot in Utah. According to the campaign’s website, Team Kennedy is currently in the process of collecting signatures in 35 states in total. 

Kennedy visited Nebraska in December of 2023, hosting a voter rally at the Royal Grove Music Hall. According to a KETV report, Kennedy spoke about the overwhelming influence large corporations have over the United States and how this influence corrupts government agencies. Kennedy also spoke about the rise of chronic disease in the country, an issue he and his running mate Nicole Shanahan are passionate about rectifying. 

The rally also covered topics key to Kennedy’s campaign, such as the immigration crisis and America’s involvement in “forever wars.” The crowd in Nebraska erupted into applause when Kennedy declared, “I will get your country back to you.” 

Last week, on April 3, Nebraska refused to change its electoral system to a winner-take-all system. Currently, Nebraska awards an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district rather than awarding all of the state’s electoral votes to the overall winner. This could prove to be extremely beneficial to Kennedy if he wins one of the districts.

Nebraska voted Republican during the last six presidential elections. Although Nebraska is a predominantly Republican state, one of the three congressional districts is a swing district that Biden won in the 2020 election. As reported by The New York Times, Nebraska State Legislature officials were under pressure from former President Trump and Governor Jim Pillen to adopt this change to Nebraska’s electoral system. 

With a close election expected for November, swing states and swing districts can play an outsized role.