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 ten of the states with the largest threshold of voter petitions required.  While Kennedy is a long-shot candidate, his appearance on the ballot in closely contested battleground states could have a major effect on the outcome of the presidential election. Supporters of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have expressed concern Kennedy could pull support from their candidates in …