RFK Jr. filed to get on ballot in Pennsylvania, where he could affect a tight race

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork Thursday to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania, a state where his base could pull support from the mainstream candidates and tilt the scales enough to affect the outcome.

While Kennedy doesn’t have much of a chance of winning the presidential election, his presence on the ballot has the ability to influence a close race. The race in Pennsylvania is expected to be particularly close. President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by a little more than 1 percentage point and former President Donald Trump won in 2016 by a little less than 1 percentage point.

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena College poll showed 10% of registered voters supporting Kennedy, 70, and a dead heat between Biden, 81, and Trump, 77.

» READ MORE: Here are takeaways from an Inquirer/NYT/Siena poll.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and prominent anti-vaccine activist, abandoned his Democratic primary challenge to Biden and announced his independent bid at a Philadelphia event last year. Without an establishment party behind him, he has to secure ballot access state by state, which requires him to collect millions of signatures that must be verified by election officials before his candidacy is approved.

Kennedy is required to file 5,000 signatures from registered voters in Pennsylvania to qualify for the ballot. He filed six weeks ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, at which point his paperwork can be challenged in court.

It’s unclear whether Kennedy could sour the chances more for Biden or Trump. In the NYT/Siena polls of all six swing states — including Pennsylvania, where The Inquirer was a partner — Kennedy voters were evenly split between Trump and Biden if forced to choose a major candidate.

The Democratic National Committee and Biden campaign have both already lashed out at Kennedy as a potential threat, and are likely to challenge his eligibility to be on the Pennsylvania ballot.

Democrats believe Green Party candidate Jill Stein hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances against Trump in Pennsylvania in 2016. Stein won 49,941 votes in the state — more than the 44,292 votes by which Trump beat Clinton.

» READ MORE: Will Robert F. Kennedy Jr. make the ballot in Pennsylvania?

To push back against enthusiasm for Kennedy, Biden held an event in North Philadelphia in April with other members of the Kennedy family, who endorsed the president’s reelection.

The DNC has also deployed mobile billboards in locations where Kennedy was campaigning, criticizing him for getting donations from Trump donors.

The DNC declined to comment on Kennedy’s latest milestone on Friday.

“We’re expecting a close election in 2024 and we’re gonna be prepared for any contingency and that’s gonna include making sure third-party and independent candidates play by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni said last month. “We’re also going to be working to define Robert Kennedy and make sure voters know he’s a spoiler in this race.”

The window for legal challenges will be relatively tight because Pennsylvania counties will need to begin sending out mail ballots by mid-September.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.