A North Carolina appeals court on Friday ordered state election officials to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from mail-in ballots, delaying the ballots from going out hours before the deadline, in a ruling that could help Donald Trump’s chances of winning the crucial swing state.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears on FOX News Sunday at FOX News D.C. Bureau on August 25, 2024 in ... [+]
An appeals court granted Kennedy’s request to have his name removed from ballots after he dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Trump, overturning a lower court’s ruling that sided with the State Board of Elections’ decision to keep Kennedy’s name on ballots.
The Board—which indicated Friday it might appeal the ruling, according to multiple reports—voted along party lines last week to keep Kennedy on the ballot, noting many counties had already begun printing ballots with Kennedy’s name on them.
Kennedy was granted ballot access in North Carolina after his supporters formed the We the People Party to formally nominate him as their presidential candidate.
Kennedy has worked to remove his name from battleground states’ ballots to avoid hurting Trump, but wants to keep his name on the ballot in solidly blue and red states.
The state deadline for sending out the mail-in ballots was Friday.
A Michigan appeals court also ruled Friday that Kennedy’s name should not appear on ballots, which had yet to be printed. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson plans to appeal the decision, NBC News reported.
If the Michigan and North Carolina rulings hold, Kennedy will have successfully removed his name from the ballots in at least six of the seven battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona. He’s suing to have his name removed from the ballot in the seventh battleground, Wisconsin.
Kennedy had secured ballot access in 23 states before he dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Trump. Kennedy’s exit from the race isn’t expected to tip the national popular vote in either candidate’s favor as he was polling at less than 5% when he dropped out, though he could have an impact in swing states where candidates are polling within narrow margins of each other.
North Carolina, which has only voted for a Democratic presidential candidate once since 1980 (Obama in 2008), is widely considered a swing state this year as population changes have shifted the state to the left. Trump leads Harris here by just 0.7 points, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
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