RFK Jr.’s name to be removed from North Carolina ballots, state Supreme Court rules

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will be removed from the North Carolina ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will be removed from the North Carolina ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. In a 4-3 decision, with both of the Democratic members and one Republican dissenting, the GOP-controlled court wrote that having accurate ballots is more important than the costs and delays that will come from having to reprint the state’s ballots. Absentee ballots in North Carolina were supposed to start going out on Friday but were held amid the legal fight over Kennedy’s removal after he dropped his independent bid for president. According to the state board of elections, absentee voting could now be delayed nearly two weeks while ballots are reprinted. “We acknowledge that expediting the process of printing new ballots will require considerable time and effort by our election officials and significant expense to the State,” the majority wrote. “But that is a price the North Carolina Constitution expects us to incur to protect voters’ fundamental right to vote their conscience and have that vote count.” In guidance to county election boards Monday evening, state board executive director Karen Brinson Bell said that the process of reprinting ballots without Kennedy’s name would continue, and that existing ballots “must be strictly separated and moved to storage to avoid any accidental usage in this election.” Brinson Bell wrote that counties should not mail out ballots until a uniform date can be set. “We will continue to consult with counties and ballot vendors to determine the feasible start date for distributing absentee ballots statewide,” Brinson Bell wrote.