Kennedy Satisfies Ballot Access Requirements in Iowa

By Leah Watson, The Kennedy Beacon

On April 13, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosted a convention in Des Moines, Iowa to achieve ballot access in the state without a petition. Iowa’s unique ballot access laws allow an independent candidate ballot access provided that a minimum of 500 eligible Iowa voters from at least 25 counties attend a convention and sign an assembly form to prove their attendance. According to a Team Kennedy announcement, the convention had more than 650 such voters signing the assembly form.

Iowa now joins the growing list of states where Kennedy has collected enough signatures or party votes to qualify for the ballot, including New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, and Nebraska. He’s officially on the ballot in Utah. 

According to Ballot Access News, the convention method is rarely used, and “a few years ago the legislature increased the attendance requirement from 250 to 500.” Participants at the convention were able to vote “yea” or “nay” in consideration of Kennedy’s nomination for president of the United States. Following the vote, the presiding officer of the convention, David Owens, declared that Kennedy has a valid nomination for president of the United States under the “We the People” party. The convention then voted in favor of Nicole Shanahan as the party’s nominee for vice president.

Following the vote, Kennedy took the stage to thank his audience for getting him on the ballot. 

Almost one year ago, Kennedy announced his run for president. Six months later, he announced his departure from the Democratic party, a decision reached with difficulty because of his family’s legacy with the party. However, Kennedy noted a turn in the Democratic Party from the principles of democracy. 

“For my legacy party, the Democratic party, to make the argument that we have to destroy democracy in order to save it, is a big disappointment,” said Kennedy. He also pointed out that the DNC has been suing Team Kennedy, “so even when we get enough signatures, they're trying to keep us off the ballot.”

During his speech at the Iowa Val-Air Ballroom, Kennedy emphasized how necessary it is for Americans to take responsibility for ending the polarization in the United States. “President Trump and President Biden have no capacity to do that,” said Kennedy. “They are the products of that anger, that hatred, that acrimony, the vilification, the demonization. They are the products of this system.”

Kennedy went on to say that Biden and Trump do not have the capacity to change, and that if people don’t want more of the same, they should vote for him.