Judge rules on RFK Jr.’s NC ballot lawsuit, with implications for key election deadline
Update: The Court of Appeals has taken up Kennedy’s case and issued a ruling. Read the latest on the case here.
A Wake County judge denied Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request to be removed from North Carolina’s presidential ballot on Thursday.
However, Superior Court Judge Rebecca Waters Holt granted a request from Kennedy’s lawyer to put her ruling on hold for 24 hours to allow him to appeal to the state Court of Appeals.
The hearing came just one day before the state was supposed to start sending out absentee ballots, which have already been printed with Kennedy’s name on them.
Holt said Kennedy was unlikely to suffer irreparable harm by being on the ballot, whereas the state would be harmed by having to reprint ballots at “considerable cost and effort” while also missing the Sept. 6 deadline for sending absentee ballots.
In her order, released Thursday evening, Holt directed the state board not to send out absentee ballots before noon on Friday, in order to give the Court of Appeals time to consider Kennedy’s request.
Less than one month ago, Kennedy was in court defending his right to be on the state’s ballot. But after suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump, he launched a hasty effort to withdraw his candidacy in North Carolina while remaining on the ballot in less competitive states.
His request was initially denied by the State Board of Elections’ Democratic majority, which said it would be impractical to remove him with so little notice and would cause the state to miss its deadline for sending absentee ballots. Kennedy sued shortly after.
On Thursday, Kennedy’s lawyer argued that the board did not have the authority to reject his request and that doing so would force voters to see a candidate on the ballot they know has withdrawn and endorsed someone else.
“The ensuing confusion from that — from individual voters going into the booth and looking at the ballot... outweighs any administrative inconvenience or concern that the state board has,” the lawyer, Phil Strach, said.
Mary Carla Babb, the state’s lawyer, argued that the state board was obligated to meet the statutory deadline for sending absentee ballots and could not have honored Kennedy’s request in time. She also noted that, while Kennedy is suing to get off the ballot in North Carolina, he is actively attempting to remain on the ballot in other states.
“Elections are not just a game and states are not obligated to honor the whims of candidates,” Babb said.
Unless the Court of Appeals reverses her decision, Holt’s ruling means Kennedy will appear on the 2024 ballot even though he has suspended his campaign in North Carolina. All votes for him would be counted.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 12:06 PM.
