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.

On March 14, the Mississippi Senate passed SB 2770, a bill to restore the initiative process. The vote was 26-21. It says an initiative needs a popular vote of 66.67% in order to pass. It leaves open the question of how many signatures would be needed. See this story.

On March 11, Harry Kresky died at the age of 79. He was a long-time ballot access attorney and a leading member of the New Alliance Party, which existed from 1982 until 1994. He was also a Board Member of the Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE), representing Independent Voting, a successor organization to the New Alliance Party.

Kresky and his fellow New Alliance Party colleague Gary Sinawski helped the New Alliance Party places its presidential nominee, Lenora Fulani, on the ballot of all 50 states in 1988. In 2004, Kresky was a ballot access attorney for Ralph Nader, when Nader’s ballot position was challenged in two dozen states.

Kresky is the second board member of COFOE to die this month; the first was Jim Hedges of the Prohibition Party.