A North Carolina Court of Appeals has blocked the distribution of ballots listing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name while it reviews his request to have his name removed from the ballot.
Kennedy, who recently suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump for president, petitioned to remove his name from ballots in 10 battleground states, including North Carolina.
Due to the court’s decision, North Carolina will need to delay sending out its ballots and will miss the September 6 deadline for mailing absentee ballots.
The court’s order, released on Friday, stated: “The stay and injunction will remain in effect until the disposition of petitioner’s appeal or until further order of this Court. This cause is remanded to the Superior Court of Wake County for entry of order directing the State Board of Elections to disseminate ballots without the name of petitioner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appearing as a candidate for President of the United States.”
Following the ruling, an email was sent to all North Carolina county boards of elections, according to Fox 8. The email read: “The Court of Appeals just issued an order reversing the denial of the restraining order that was requested by Kennedy… The court has ordered a further pause to ballot distribution. Do not send any ballots out today.”
The email further stated, “The court has also ordered that the We The People party’s ballot line be removed (including Kennedy and Shanahan). This will be a major undertaking for everyone. Our attorneys are reviewing the order and determining how to move forward. No decision has been made on whether this ruling will be appealed. Bottom line: continue to hold your outgoing absentee ballots—both military and overseas citizen ballots, and ballots for civilian voters. We will update you immediately with any further developments.”
The North Carolina State Board of Elections may choose to appeal the case further, potentially bringing it to the state Supreme Court.