RFK Jr.’s fight to get off the ballot is causing chaos in North Carolina
Kennedy’s legal battle to get off the ballot could delay mail-in voting in North Carolina.
Mail-in voting for North Carolina, a critical swing state, could be delayed as former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fights to get his name taken off the ballots.
WRAL reports ballots were supposed to start going out Friday — the state deadline. But the North Carolina Court of Appeals ordered a pause, telling officials to reprint fresh ballots without Kennedy’s name.
The ballot overhaul — which is key to Kennedy’s plan to boost Donald Trump’s chances against Kamala Harris — could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and result in delays stretching weeks, WRAL reported.
It’s the latest turn in a lengthy legal back-and-forth in North Carolina — with potentially more challenges to come.
Kennedy first asked to be removed from North Carolina mail-in ballots days after he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump — which was after many counties had already started printing their ballots.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) refused, so he sued.
On Thursday, a judge sided with the NCSBE and ruled that Kennedy’s name would remain. But Friday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned that decision.
The NCSBE could still appeal.
The agency provided B-17 with a memo from its general counsel, Paul Cox, addressed to county election directors. The memo said NCSBE attorneys were reviewing the matter but that no decision had been made about an appeal.
The memo also told the directors not to send out any ballots, but to continue to hold the existing ballots.
The Kennedy campaign did not immediately respond to B-17 request for comment.
While his status in North Carolina remains up in the air, similar requests by Kennedy to be removed from ballots in swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado have been denied.
But a Michigan appeals court overturned the denial and ordered RFK Jr. to be taken off the ballot. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson plans to appeal that ruling, NBC News reported.
