NBC News reports:

Allies of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are taking a major step toward putting him on the presidential ballot in several key battleground states, hiring multiple signature-gathering vendors to begin the massive undertaking of circulating petitions to submit on the independent candidate’s behalf.

American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting Kennedy, formally contracted three firms to collect voter signatures in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, according to Tony Lyons, a co-founder of the group.

Workers hired by the firms are set to begin collecting signatures in Georgia on Jan. 20, with the efforts in Arizona and Michigan slated to commence soon after. Lyons says it will finance and lead the signature-gathering charge for Kennedy in 10 of the states with the largest threshold of voter petitions required.

Kennedy’s campaign committee has not hired paid signature gatherers, instead working to build a volunteer apparatus to execute their petition effort.

“Right now, we’re relying on our volunteers and feel we have a big enough base to get the petitions we need in each state,” said Stefanie Spear, the spokesperson for Kennedy’s campaign. “If we do need paid petitioners, we’ll absolutely engage in contracts.”

In most states, petition requirements placed on independent candidates for president are significantly steeper than individuals running with one of the major political parties. For example, in Arizona, a Democratic or Republican candidate for president must only submit 500 qualifying signatures. 

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