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We the People Party (United States)

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We the People Party is the name of political third parties in the United States founded in January 2024 by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to help obtain ballot access for his 2024 presidential campaign.

Background

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Kennedy, who was also running as an independent politician, created the parties to make it easier to obtain ballot access.[1] Independent candidates require large numbers of signatures from voters to get on the ballot in most states. In some states that number is significantly lower for political parties.[2] Registering a new political party in selected states reduces by 330,000 the total signatures needed to obtain ballot access in every state.[3]

Formation

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Parties with that name have been formed in California,[4] Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Additionally, a party in Texas was created under the name of Texas Independent Party.[5][2][3][6][better source needed] Kennedy filed as an independent with the Texas Secretary of State.[7]

Kennedy filed paperwork to create the party in California, Delaware, Hawaii, and North Carolina. Election officials in California, Delaware, Hawaii, and North Carolina confirmed that they had received a filing for the formation of We the People Parties in their states. Jane Nelson, the Secretary of State of Texas, also confirmed that filing for the formation of the Texas Independent Party had been received.[2][8] As of June 19, 2024 officials in Mississippi had received some of the required documents, the remainder needed to be filed by September 6.[9]

To obtain political party status in California, the We the People Party is required to have 75,000 registered members in the state. Delaware requires 770 registered members to obtain political party status.[10]

Ballot access

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See also: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign § Ballot access

On February 29, 2024, the We the People Party received the necessary number of signatures to obtain ballot access in Hawaii, which was certified by the Hawaii Office of Elections.[11] Kennedy withdrew his name from the ballot in September,[12] and his name did not appear.[13]

On April 1, the Kennedy campaign claimed that they had received enough signatures to obtain ballot access for the We the People Party in North Carolina,[14] which was certified by the North Carolina State Board of Elections on July 16.[15]

On April 18, Kennedy received the nomination of the Natural Law Party, which meant that the We the People Party no longer needed to obtain ballot access in Michigan. This was confirmed by a Michigan Secretary of State's office spokesperson.[16]

On April 28, Kennedy received the nomination of the American Independent Party, which meant that the We the People Party no longer needed to obtain ballot access in California.[17]

On May 7, Kennedy received the nomination of the Independent Party of Delaware, which meant that the We the People Party no longer needed to obtain ballot access in Delaware. At the time of the nomination, the We the People Party of Delaware only had 175 of the 769 needed registered members.[18]

On August 8, a lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania "to set aside the nomination papers of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Nicole Shanahan as the We The People Candidates for President and Vice President of the United States".[19]

Other users of "We the People" party designation

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"We the People" has previously been used as a party designation by other candidates. New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. was listed on the ballot as representing the We the People party in addition to the Democratic Party in his 2022 election.[20] New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Vincent Ross used the same party label in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election.[21] Abraham Kasparian Jr. in 2022 was on the ballot for the Massachusetts legislature using We The People party.[22]

In 2024 candidate Shelby Pikachu Billionaire was on the ballot for U.S. Senate in Hawaii using the We the People Party designation,[23] receiving 1.8% of the vote.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Lopez, Lisa (January 17, 2024). "Some independent candidates start their own political parties to ease ballot access". NPR. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Astor, Maggie (January 16, 2024). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Tries Creating Own Party to Get on Ballot in 6 States". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Bohannon, Molly. "RFK Jr. Starting New Political Parties In Effort To Expand Ballot Access". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Large, Steve (January 16, 2024). "RFK Jr. announces he is creating a new party to get on California ballot in the presidential run". CBS News. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Leeman, Zachary (January 16, 2024). "RFK Campaign Sets Up 'We the People' Political Party in Multiple States". The Messenger. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Murphy, Dan (January 16, 2024). "Kennedy Campaign Forms 'We the People' Political Parties in Six States". Kennedy24. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  7. ^ Moritz, John (August 8, 2024). "RFK Jr now an Independent presidential candidate on the Texas ballot". The Austin Post. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Weber, Shirley D. (February 6, 2024). "County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (CC/ROV) Memorandum #24049" (PDF). CA Secretary of State Elections Division.
  9. ^ "We The People Party-- Statement Correction" (Press release). State of Mississippi Secretary of State. June 19, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy to create his political party". www.audacy.com. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Trudo, Hanna (February 29, 2024). "RFK Jr. qualifies for Hawaii ballot". The Hill. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be on Hawaii's ballot in 2024" (Press release). We The People Hawaii. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "2024 Hawaii General Election Results". Maui Now. November 14, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  14. ^ Doherty, Erin (April 1, 2024). "RFK Jr. campaign says it has enough signatures for North Carolina ballot". Axios.
  15. ^ "We The People party recognized, voters now have eight choices". WITN-TV. July 16, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  16. ^ Lobo, Arpan (April 18, 2024). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. qualifies for Michigan presidential ballot as 3rd-party candidate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Nazzaro, Miranda (April 30, 2024). "RFK Jr. qualifies for California ballot". The Hill. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  18. ^ "Independent Party of Delaware Nominates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for President |". May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  19. ^ "In The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania" (PDF).
  20. ^ "General Election 2022 - State Senator - 25th Senatorial District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official List Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor For November 2017 General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  22. ^ "2022 State Election Candidates". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elections division. 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "2024 Election: Billionaire, Shelby Pikachu (candidate questionnaires)". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 19, 2024.
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