Supreme Court Upholds Jill Stein’s Exclusion from Nevada Ballot

On September 20, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency request to include Green Party candidate Jill Stein on the presidential ballot in Nevada.

The decision, which came with a 5-2 vote, upheld a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court. This ruling stated that Stein’s supporters had improperly used forms distributed by the Secretary of State to solicit signatures. As a result, the signatures collected were deemed unofficial, leaving her campaign short of the necessary signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.

The Nevada Green Party contended that the forms came from the state and, therefore, the signatures gathered should be valid. Jay Sekulow, an attorney known for his defense of former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial, represented the Green Party in the argument.

Conversely, the Nevada Democratic Party maintained that the forms in question were outdated and required a more lenient verification process. They emphasized that these signatures could not be accepted or corrected at this point in the election cycle.

Initially, the Green Party had won a favorable ruling from Nevada’s district court. However, that decision was later overturned by the state’s Supreme Court, leading to the current ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its previous ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court pointed out that if the Green Party had conducted a review of the petition before using it, they would have noted the incorrect circulator affidavit. The Green Party was well-aware of the legal requirements, having previously used the correct affidavit in an earlier petition effort.