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Nevada Supreme Court Rules Green Party Removed From Presidential Ballots

Democrats in Nevada have been working to “save democracy” by filing lawsuits to block potential challengers to Kamala Harris from running for president.

Last month, faced with a Democratic-led lawsuit, RFK Jr. decided to remove his independent candidacy from the ballot after reaching a deal with state Democrats. Today, state Democrats prevailed in their lawsuit against the Green Party and its candidate, Dr. Jill Stein, who previously ran on the ballot in 2012 and 2016.

Despite the fact that the State Secretary used incorrect wording, the Green Party failed to convince the majority of the court to defend their position.

In a 5-2 decision released today (see below), the Nevada Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and held that the Green Party’s petition contained incorrect affidavit language, invalidating the estimated 30,000 signatures it had collected to appear on the November ballot. “The Green Party’s failure to use the proper affidavit cannot be excused by the Green Party’s reliance on the sample petition received from the Secretary,” the ruling said.

The two dissenting justices, Kristina Pickering and Douglas Herndon, wrote that the majority’s decision violated the Green Party’s due process rights and were “deeply concerned that our decision today condones an egregious error by the Secretary of State’s Office that will result in significant injustice.”

In a statement, the secretary of state’s office, led by Democrat Cisco Aguilar, said that “providing accurate information to the public is a priority for our office, and we will continue to review and improve all manuals and documentation.”

“The Secretary of State’s Office was involved in this case out of necessity and took no position on the legal sufficiency of the petition under Nevada law,” the statement said. “We respect the judges’ decision and are working with the counties to ensure that the decision is enforced.”

In a released statement, Margery Hanson, co-chair of the Nevada Green Party, said, “I live in a swing state and I will not be voting this cycle.”

Nevada Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett responded to the court’s ruling by saying the “ruling is a victory for Nevada voters and ensures that the Green Party plays by the same rules as other campaigns.”

Green Party reversal

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