Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cannot withdraw his name from the ballot in North Carolina.
Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign on Aug. 23 and endorsed President Donald Trump. The environmental lawyer and former Democrat said he would withdraw his name from swing state ballots to aid the Republican candidate in November.
The North Carolina Board of Elections rejected the We the People Party’s request to remove Kennedy as its nominee. After holding an emergency meeting, the board concluded the request was submitted too late.
“It would not be practical to reprint ballots that have already been printed and meet the state law deadline to start absentee voting,” the board said in a statement on Thursday. “Approximately 2 million ballots statewide have already been printed with Kennedy’s name on them, and the first ballots will be sent to absentee voters in eight days.”
The Board acknowledged that there is “no deadline in state law for when a party may withdraw its presidential nominee and have their name replaced or removed from the ballot.”
“However, under state law, absentee ballots must go out by September 6 to voters who have already requested them, including military and overseas voters who may need more time to return their ballots,” the administrative body argued. “And under a provision in the North Carolina Administrative Code, when a political party wishes to change its presidential nominee close to an election but before ballots go out, the State Board must determine whether it is practical to reprint ballots at that point.”
Early voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina.
Michigan also announced this week that Kennedy, who was nominated by the Natural Law Party, could not withdraw his name from the state ballot.
“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election," Cheri Hardmon, senior press secretary for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. told Axios.
According to polling from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ:A three-way match-up has Vice President Harris (45.5 percent) leading Trump (42.5 percent) by 3 points, with Kennedy getting 5 percent.
Without Kennedy, however, Harris’s lead in Michigan shrinks to 2.3 points, with 48.4 percent to Trump’s 46.1 percent — suggesting Kennedy’s presence on the ballot would give a slight boost to Harris.
Wisconsin also refused to allow Kennedy to be removed from its ballots. The Wisconsin Election Commission voted 5-1 on Tuesday to keep the lawyer on the ballot. State law states “any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination.”
Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein and independent candidate Cornel West will also appear on the ballot despite challenges filed by a Democratic National Committee employee, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Colorado, notably less competitive for Trump than Michigan or Wisconsin, also denied Kennedy['s] removal from the ballot,” reports Business Insider.
