Vermont among 43 states now with independent choice for president
By Paul Bean
On Wednesday, July 31, Team Kennedy Vermont delivered their signed petitions to officially get Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the November General Election ballot in Vermont for president of the United States.
The required number of signatures to get on the ballot for president in Vermont is 1000 signatures. Vermont Team Kennedy rolled in with 1628 signatures.
The enthusiastic crowd for Kennedy arrived 15 minutes early at the Secretary of State’s office in Montpelier. I mingled with the crowd to see If I could get some intel on their endeavor to gather signatures. In the early stages of any political campaign, a tough BY necessary job is gathering signatures to get on the ballot.
Apparently it was quite the challenge to get Vermonters to sign on for RFK Jr..
“Getting Vermonters to sign the petitions was literally like pulling molars without anesthetic,” said Vicki Master, team captain and elector for Kennedy. “I have friends in New York and New Jersey and it was so easy for them, comparatively speaking. Fear about getting Trump elected and every lie in the media was an excuse not to sign.”
Many of the Kennedy supporters in Montpelier Wednesday held the same sentiment: The mainstream press is involved in a concerted effort to keep Robert Kennedy Jr off the ballot.
“We’ve looked at the two party system and the lock that they have…” said Juliet Rinear, Kennedy for Vermont elector. “…largely thanks to the media in this country that refuses to cover third party candidates. Refuses to include them in debates and town halls…We need people to recognize that the power truly is in our hands. We have given our power to the media and to the two parties and we need to get past that.”
Many in the mainstream press describe Kennedy as a “spoiler” candidate. This means that Kennedy has the potential to “spoil” either Trump or Harris’s campaign, by taking votes from one or the other, without him actually winning at all, and whoever the winner actually is will win with less than 50% of the vote.
Master responded, “This is a representative democracy… We have the power to elect whomever we want, Americans need to be looking at all presidential candidates, look a their policies and their platforms, do your own research, and decide who will best represent you, your concerns for the country, and take the country on a course that is your vision for the country. We truly believe that Kennedy is that candidate. We have given our power to the media and to the two parties and we need to get past that.”
Several Kennedy supporters suggested Harris or Trump might actually be the spoiler candidates.
“I am glad he was able to get on the ballot, it’s a testament of Vermont traditions to having open elections,” VT GOP Chair Paul Dame told VDC in a phone call yesterday. “With that comes some disappointment considering that RFK was trying to get on the Democrat ballot in the primary and they wouldn’t let him, and it’s too bad considering the person he was running against isn’t even the nominee anymore. If they had been willing to let back a Democrat like Kennedy that would have made this election much tougher for republicans, but Kennedy has found out like many moderates that he’s not welcome among Democrats anymore.”
Kennedy has the potential to split the vote one way or another. Which way voters swing depends on how the next 95 days go for President Trump and Vice President Harris. Many Americans say they want a third party candidate. With a name like Kennedy, it is hard to rule him out.