On February 27, American Values 24, the PAC that supports the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said that it has finished petitions for him in Arizona and Georgia.  Georgia requires 7,500 signatures for an independent or minor party presidential candidate.  Arizona requires 42,303.

Generally, American Values 24 relies on paid circulators.

There are other instances in history when an organization has carried out petition drives for an independent candidate, without coordinating with that candidate.  In 2004 the Michigan Republican Party circulated a petition to get Ralph Nader on the ballot as an independent candidate, and the Michigan state court of appeals ruled there was nothing illegal for a group to circulate a petition without consulting with the candidate.  DeLeeuw v State Board of Canvassers, 688 NW 2d 847.

Also, in 1968, groups submitted petitions putting Eugene McCarthy on the ballot as an independent in many states, even though McCarthy did not want them to do that.

On February 24, the United Citizens Party of South Carolina announced that it has nominated Cornel West for President. The party is South Carolina’s oldest third party. It has been ballot-qualified starting in 1970. It was formed to promote the interests of African-Americans.

South Carolina permits parties to change their names. The United Citizens Party had changed its name to the New Alliance Party in the past, but then had changed its name back to the original name. Thanks to Bradley Fox for this news.

New Jersey is the only state that has discriminatory ballot format in primaries. Candidates endorsed by the county party organization get the best spot on the primary ballot in that county, in 19 of the 21 counties. On February 26, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate filed a federal lawsuit against the ballot format. Kim v Hanlon, 3:24cv-1098. Here is the Complaint.

Another federal lawsuit is already pending on this subject, Conforti v Hanlon. It was filed in 2020 and is still in the U.S. District Court. Discovery is taking place through July 28, 2024. UPDATE: see this Politico story. Thanks to David Sturrock for the link.