Rantz: ‘Pro-Democracy’ WA Democrats tried to stop Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from ballot access

Leaders from the party that tell us they’re fighting for democracy, while stymying voter suppression efforts, are trying to stop Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the Washington ballot. Their fight for democracy and voters’ rights is only extended to helping them stay in power. Otherwise, they don’t want you to have a vote.

Washington Democrats complained to the Secretary of State that Kennedy Jr.’s party, We the People, didn’t properly collect signatures to get on the ballot in November. They contended the signatures, which We the People submitted on time, were supposed to be collected at a convention in order to be considered valid.

In the August 9 letter, first reported by the Washington State Standard, lawyers for the Washington Democrats argued that, “Simply gathering signatures does not constitute a convention.” This is a reference to state law outlining how minor political party candidates appear on the ballot. But it’s not quite as clear as they believe and could be subject to higher courts making a final decision.

More from Jason Rantz: AG Bob Ferguson kept secret his donor’s lawsuit against initiatives in ‘highly unusual’ deceit

How would Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear on the Washington state ballot?

The Secretary of State’s Office published a guide for minor party and independent presidential and vice presidential candidates to appear on the ballot. The guide tells candidates to “hold a nomination convention.” It must be promoted at least 10 days before the date of the convention and held between May 4 and July 27.

We the People did not hold a convention — at least as we’d traditionally define it. And that’s where Kennedy Jr. had his opening.

RCW 29A.56.600 defines convention as merely “an organized assemblage of registered voters representing an independent candidate or candidates or a new or minor political party, organization, or principle.” To be valid, it must be attended by at least 100 registered voters who provide their signatures, though you can hold multiple conventions and count the total number of signatures across all the conventions.

Jason Rantz Exclusive: Secretary of State says AG Bob Ferguson demanded he break law in vulgar tirade

But … but … but …

The RCW doesn’t provide any details on the way a convention must be organized or the form it must take. It doesn’t even say the convention has to be labeled a “convention.”

We the People held several events to collect signatures across Washington state. If they collected the signatures and submitted them when they were supposed to, they could argue any one of the events, all of which were promoted online, could constitute a convention based on the RCW’s definition.

Washington Democrats disagree with this, arguing that signature-gathering events aren’t organized. But Kennedy’s events were organized as any convention would be. The party promoted the event and invited people to attend during a specific amount of time at a specific location.

More from Jason Rantz: Why won’t Chris Vance, clinging to relevance with Republicans for Kamala Harris, just go away?

Shall vs. May

Kennedy Jr. could argue that an actual convention wasn’t even necessary.

The RCW doesn’t actually say the minor political party must (or “shall”) hold a convention. It says it “may” hold a convention. The language (“shall” vs “may”) is important.

The legislature uses “shall” throughout the RCW to make clear what are absolute requirements. For example, the RCW says all general elections “shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, in the year in which they may be called.” (emphasis mine)

Secretary Steve Hobbs rejected the Washington Democrats’ request to deny voters the chance to support Kennedy Jr. Though he doesn’t expressly explain why, he did note in a press release that candidates are required to hold conventions. This implies he does think signature gathering events are considered conventions. A spokesperson for Hobbs wouldn’t explain if the other minor political parties held traditional conventions like that of Republicans and Democrats, though it doesn’t appear Washington Democrats challenge the other parties.

It’s unclear if the Washington Democrats will shamelessly challenge Hobbs’ decision.

Bigger picture: Washington Democrats are hypocrites

Procedures aside, the fight to keep Kennedy Jr. off the ballot highlights the absolute hypocrisy of the Left.

Democrats love to paint themselves as the noble guardians of democracy, constantly banging the drum about protecting the vote and fighting so-called “voter suppression” by Republicans. But when it comes to RFK Jr., they err on the side of less choice by leaning into what’s effectively voter suppression because they think it’ll help their candidate.

The same party that rails against disenfranchisement is now trying to keep a legitimate candidate off the ballot. In Washington, he’s not even a true threat to Kamala Harris. There’s no way their internals suggest he would take voters from Democrats in ways that matter. Unless, of course, they’re concerned that he might inspire voters who wouldn’t otherwise vote.

More from Jason Rantz: Semi Bird crashes and burns, may bring down WA Republican party with him

This is part of a bigger strategy by Washington Democrats

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced challenges to ballot access across the country, courtesy of Democrats who see him as a potential threat to Kamala Harris. There’s not been sufficient polling to suggest this is even true, but Democrats will quash any potential threat whenever possible.

The bigger strategy is to bleed Kennedy Jr.’s campaign coffers by forcing him to challenge these moves in court. It’s extremely costly, especially when you’re doing it across half the country. Democrats always fight dirty.

But moreover, this is part of a troubling and consistent campaign by Democrats to deny you the right to vote.

Democrats recently tried to sandbag the very popular initiatives from appearing on the November ballot. The fear was that it would drive voter participation up. And if you’re voting purely because of the initiatives, it’s a near guarantee you’re voting to support them. Supporting them hurts Democrats’ signature legislation and you might take out your annoyance over a gas tax or mandated long-term care on the party responsible by booting their incumbents out of office. That would be, of course, a wise decision.

Democrats only care about “democracy” when it serves their agenda. When anything threatens their cozy power structure, suddenly, their phony principles go out the window.

More from Jason Rantz: Kamala Harris chose antisemitic base over Josh Shapiro with Tim Walz pick

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz