A delay in sending absentee ballots and removing RFK Jr.’s name are significant setbacks for Democratic strategies in North Carolina following the state’s Supreme Court ruling that RFK Jr. must be removed from the ballots.
Last Thursday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt refused to remove Kennedy’s name from the ballots, which led Kennedy to appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Judge Holt had instructed election officials to wait until noon on Friday before sending out the absentee ballots.
On Friday, North Carolina’s Court of Appeals had agreed to pause the mailing of ballots that included Kennedy’s name. Monday’s decision by the state’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling just as the state prepared to mail out absentee ballots.
North Carolina law required the first absentee ballots to be sent out by Friday, 60 days before the general election. State attorneys mentioned reprinting and assembling the new ballots would take over two weeks.
Kennedy, who was running as the We The People party nominee in North Carolina, tried to remove his name from the state’s ballots after he stopped his campaign to support Trump. However, the State Board of Elections, controlled by Democrats, turned down his request, saying it was too late to change the ballots and machines.
Democrats hoped that forcing Kennedy to remain on the ballot would siphon votes from Trump. Now, Trump will see a boost from RFK supporters. Even worse, the state cannot begin harvesting votes using illegitimate mail-in ballots for weeks.
On Friday evening, the State Board of Elections asked North Carolina’s Supreme Court to overturn the Court of Appeals’ decision. State lawyers requested that the justices act quickly before the changes to the ballots, ordered earlier on Friday, are finished, which is expected to take a few days. Out of the seven Supreme Court justices, five are registered Republicans.
In an email, state board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell instructed election directors in all 100 counties to keep the current ballots and ballot coding in case Kennedy’s name needs to stay on them. Over 2.9 million ballots with Kennedy’s name had already been printed, and counties would need to pay to reprint them.
Since the Friday deadline was missed, North Carolina election officials still have to send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by September 21, as federal law requires. If they can’t produce the new ballots in time, they might ask for an extension.
In Monday’s ruling, the North Carolina Supreme Court acknowledged that making new ballots will be time-consuming and costly for election officials. They emphasized that the North Carolina Constitution requires this effort to ensure voters can vote freely and have their votes heard.
As of late Friday, the State Board of Elections reported that more than 136,300 people, including military personnel, overseas workers, and in-state residents, had requested absentee ballots in North Carolina.
After he stopped his struggling White House campaign, RFK Jr. has been trying to remove his name from the ballot in critical swing states. It has already been decided that his name won’t be on the Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania ballots.
Meanwhile, a Michigan court refused to remove his name from ballots. Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pointed out a state law saying that “minor” party candidates can’t drop out after accepting their nomination. On the Michigan Supreme Court, justices nominated by Democrats have a 4-3 majority. It was unsurprising that they ruled against RFK.
The court said in a short order that Kennedy “has not proven he deserves this special relief.”
In a statement, Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, said that the court’s decision was not about keeping the election fair. Instead, he argued that it’s about tricking Michigan voters into wasting their votes on a candidate who has withdrawn from the race.
In Wisconsin, a judge turned down Mr. Kennedy’s latest effort to remove his name from the ballots. The judge said there must be a full court hearing before making any changes. Wisconsin law states that once someone qualifies to be on the ballot, they can’t just drop out.
The judge scheduled a hearing for September 11, a week before absentee ballots are sent out.
It’s unclear how President Joe Biden skirted the state’s requirements.
