Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the State Board of Elections over its decision to keep him on the North Carolina ballot.
The lawsuit filed Friday says forcing Kennedy to remain on the ballot violates his First Amendment rights.
The state Board of Elections voted along party lines Thursday to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot, despite requests from Kennedy and the party that nominated him that he be removed.
Most counties had started printing ballots by Thursday as they prepared to meet the state’s Sept. 6 deadline for the first absentee ballots to be mailed to voters who requested them. The Board’s three Democrats, citing the impracticality of removing Kennedy from the ballot, voted to keep him on.
Kennedy’s lawsuit says he told the Board that he wanted off in plenty of time. Democrats based their denial on the practicality of removing him rather than on the law, the suit says. The federal deadline for the start of absentee ballot mailing is Sept. 21.
On Friday, Aug. 23, Kennedy announced he was endorsing former President Donald Trump and was suspending his own campaign. He said he would remove his name from ballots in 10 battleground states but encouraged voters in noncompetitive states to vote for him. Kennedy did not name the states where he would seek to be dropped from the ballot, but North Carolina is considered a battleground.
On Monday, the state Board of Elections received “formal correspondence” asking how Kennedy could have his name removed, the lawsuit says. On Tuesday, Kennedy sent a letter asking to be removed.
Kennedy is running as a candidate of We the People, a party he created so he could gain ballot access in North Carolina and a few other states. We the People formally asked the Board on Wednesday to remove Kennedy’s name.
Despite knowing on Aug. 23 that Kennedy wanted to be taken off the ballot, the Board told counties to keep printing, the lawsuit says.
Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell told board members Thursday that she told counties to continue printing because they could not make decisions based on a press conference as they worked to meet the Sept. 6 deadline.
The Board’s decision to certify We the People as a political party was clouded in controversy. Certifying the party allowed Kennedy to run without having to collect as many petition signatures as he would have if he ran as an independent candidate.
Republicans argued for party certification. Democrats were skeptical. The Board voted 4-1 in favor of certifying the party.
The state Democratic Party sued. A Wake County Superior Court judge sided with the Board and We the People.
At Thursday’s meeting, it was the Republican Board members fighting to have Kennedy removed from the ballot, and Democrats arguing he had to stay on.