Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won an appeal Friday to have his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot, delaying the expected mailing of absentee ballots to the state on Friday.
It is unclear whether this decision, which overturned the lower court’s denial, will be appealed. But this will delay the distribution of postal ballots, at least temporarily.
As a third-party presidential candidate, Kennedy fought to secure ballot access in North Carolina. But he began the search after dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Donald Trump to remove himself as an option for voters, as polling suggests that having him on the ballot could hurt the Republican nominee.
The State Board of Elections ordered election officials not to send out mail-in ballots Friday morning.
“Obviously, this is going to be a big deal for everyone. Our attorneys are reviewing the order and determining how to move forward. No decision has been made on whether to appeal this decision,” said Paul Cox, general counsel for the state board of elections. .
Reprinting the ballots would be an expensive undertaking that could significantly delay the distribution of mail-in ballots, where thousands of ballots are intended to go overseas and to military voters.
On Thursday, a Wake County judge refused to remove Kennedy from the ballot, but agreed to a 24-hour delay in sending the ballots so Kennedy could appeal to a higher court. The North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned Wake County’s decision, continued the suspension of ballot distribution and agreed to remove Kennedy’s name from the ballot, state election officials said Friday.