Supreme Court declines request to put Jill Stein on Nevada’s presidential ballot

By CNN Newsource

Published September 20, 2024 8:34 AM

By John Fritze, CNN

(CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday declined a request from the Green Party to ensure presidential candidate Jill Stein could appear on the ballot in the battleground state of Nevada.

The Green Party, which was represented by a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, argued that its candidates were “ripped from the ballot” in the Silver State because campaign workers had used an incorrect form to collect signatures needed to ensure Stein’s place on the ballot.

But in filings this week, Nevada election officials said it was too late to interrupt ballot printing for the November election. Ballots for military-overseas voters, state officials said, needed to be mailed by Saturday under federal law. A ruling for the Green Party, the state Democratic Party told the high court, would “inject chaos and uncertainty into Nevada’s election process.”

Nevada’s State Democratic Party sued the state’s Green Party to keep Stein off the ballot, underscoring the significance third-party candidates can play in swing states. Polls show that Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are in a tight race for Nevada.

The Green Party was represented by Jay Sekulow, who was a member of Trump’s personal legal team.

The Supreme Court rejected the request with a single sentence. There were no noted dissents.

A lower court in the state sided with the Green Party, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled this month that Stein should be kept off the ballot, holding that the Green Party “did not substantially comply with the requirements” that needed to be met to get Stein on the ballot.

The state Supreme Court said in its ruling that an “unfortunate mistake” had occurred when the Nevada secretary of state’s office provided the Green Party with the incorrect form used in the signature collection process.

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.