Robert F Kennedy Jr qualifies for first presidential ballot in Utah

Independent candidate and anti-vaccination activist Robert F Kennedy Jr has qualified for the 2024 presidential ballot in his first state.

Elections officials in Utah said Mr Kennedy Jr had collected the 1,000 signatures necessary for ballot access, BBC reports.

He still faces a long battle to qualify in the other 49 US states and the District of Columbia.

Mr Kennedy Jr is part of a Democratic political dynasty. He counts a president and senator among his uncles.

Mr Kennedy Jr is one of several independent and third-party candidates looking to make an impact on the 2024 race, where major party front-runners Joe Biden and Donald Trump both have low favourability ratings. The Green and Libertarian parties are expected to field candidates, a centrist group called No Labels is considering floating a candidate, and philosopher and left-wing activist Cornel West is also making an independent run.