North Carolina court orders RFK Jr.’s name to be removed just before ballots are sent
RALEIGH, NC — A North Carolina appeals court ruled Friday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s The presidential candidate’s name is to be removed from the state’s ballots, jeopardizing plans in the crucial state. It comes just as authorities are about to send out the first mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The intermediate-level Court of Appeals granted an order granting Kennedy’s request to stop the mailing of ballots with his name on them. The court — a three-judge panel that ruled unanimously — also ordered a trial judge to order the State Board of Elections to stop distributing ballots without Kennedy’s name on them. No legal explanation was given.
State law, by the way, required that first-time mail ballots be mailed or sent to those who already requested them no later than 60 days before the general election, making Friday the deadline. The process of reprinting and assembling ballot packages would likely take more than two weeks, state attorneys have said. The ruling could be appealed.
Kennedy, the We The People nominee in North Carolina, filed a lawsuit last week seeking to be removed from the state’s ballots after he suspended his campaign and supported Republican candidate Donald Trump. But the Democratic majority on the State Board of Elections rejected the request, saying it was too late in the process of printing ballots and coding counting machines. Kennedy then filed a lawsuit.
Wake County Circuit Judge Rebecca Holt on Thursday denied Kennedy’s attempt to keep his name off the ballots, which led to his appeal. Meanwhile, Holt had told election officials to wait until Friday afternoon to send out mail-in ballots.
A favorable outcome for Kennedy could bolster Trump’s efforts to win the presidential battleground of North Carolina, which Trump won by just 1.3 percentage points over Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
More than 132,500 people — military personnel, overseas workers and civilians living in the state — have requested a North Carolina mail-in ballot so far, according to the State Board of Elections.
In an email after Friday’s ruling, State Attorney Paul Cox told election directors in all 100 counties to keep current ballots but not to mail them. More than 2.9 million mail-in and in-person ballots with Kennedy’s name on them have been printed so far.
No decision has yet been made on the appeal of Friday’s ruling, Cox wrote, and removing Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan from the ballot box would be “a huge undertaking for anyone.”
It took several weeks for election workers to assemble the mail-in packages for voters, including printing ballots, return envelopes and instructions. Ballots were only completed a few weeks ago. There are more than 2,300 ballot styles in the state — depending on the races — and tabulators must be coded to match where candidates go on the ballot.
With Friday’s deadline missed, North Carolina election officials still must comply with a federal law requiring mail-in ballots to be sent to military personnel and voters abroad by Sept. 21. They can seek a waiver if new ballots can’t be produced in time.
Since Kennedy suspended his campaign, the environmental activist and author has sought to have his name removed from ballots in several states where the race between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is expected to be close.
In Michigan, the intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Kennedy should be removed from the ballot, reverse a decision done earlier this week by a lower court judge.
Kennedy had filed a lawsuit against Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on August 30 to have the ballot removed.
The opinion said that although Kennedy’s request came just before the deadline to notify local election officials, it was not unreasonable to deny him assistance. Benson’s office will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, a spokesman said.
In separate statements, an attorney for Kennedy praised the rulings in North Carolina and Michigan, saying they uphold state election laws and support the integrity of the ballot by ensuring that no one is required to vote for a candidate who is no longer running in his or her state.
Kennedy also filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on Wednesday seeking to have his name removed from the presidential ballot after the State Election Commission voted to keep him on it.
Friday’s ruling in North Carolina did not include the names of the judges who considered Kennedy’s request — the court releases the names after 90 days. The court has 15 judges — 11 registered Republicans and four Democrats. Names are typically withheld from such orders to discourage “judge shopping,” or deliberately seeking a judge who is likely to rule in your favor, the court said.
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Associated Press editor Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.