There have been many stories in mass media outlets recently saying Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., can’t start getting on the ballot in many states until he chooses a vice-presidential running mate. These stories are inaccurate. Almost all states that expect a vice-presidential candidate to be listed on a petition permit stand-ins. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is free to choose a stand-in vice-presidential nominee, just as George Wallace, John Anderson, Ross Perot, did in the past. Also the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties have regularly used stand-ins, not only for vice-president, but for president.

However, it is true that Kennedy is reluctant to choose a stand-in. Because he has already chosen his actual vice-presidential nominee, who will be announced later this month, he has decided he doesn’t need to bother with the stand-in process.

If states didn’t permit stand-ins, they would be in violation of Anderson v Celebrezze, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down early petition deadlines for independent presidential candidates. It would be a violation of Equal Protection to force an independent to have chosen his actual running mate this early in the year, given that the major parties don’t formally choose their tickets until July or August. In 1980, when Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Florida denied stand-ins, Anderson sued all three states and won all three cases. Also in 1996 the Florida Libertarian Party and the Florida Reform Party jointly won a federal lawsuit that required stand-ins for president.