Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will be removed from North Carolina’s ballot following the North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, which ordered state officials to remove the former independent presidential candidate’s name from the ballot ahead of the November election.
According to NBC News, the court’s 4-3 decision on Monday upholds the prior appeals court ruling issued last Friday, which also ordered Kennedy’s name to be removed from the ballot. In Monday’s ruling, the state supreme court noted that a vote for Kennedy would not count in the 2024 presidential election due to the independent candidate’s decision to drop out and endorse former President Donald Trump.
The Post Millennial reported that the court’s decision was partly based on the Free Elections Clause o North Carolina’s constitution, which protects the right of citizens to vote accurately in state elections. The court determined that if the independent candidate’s name remained on the ballot, “it could disenfranchise countless voters who mistakenly believe that plaintiff remains a candidate for office,” which could negatively impact the right of citizens to vote accurately.
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“To protect this important right, the elections process should ensure that voters are presented with accurate information regarding the candidates running for an elected office,” the court stated in its decision. “Where a ballot contains misleading information or inaccurately lists the candidates, it risks interfering with the right to vote according to one’s conscience.”
As part of the majority’s opinion, Justice Trey Allen wrote that the court acknowledged “that expediting the process of printing new ballots will require considerable time and effort by our election officials and significant expense to the State.” However, Allen said, “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.”
Monday’s ruling marks a major victory for the former candidate, who recently endorsed Trump and pledged to have his name removed from 10 swing states to help the former president defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election. According to The Post Millennial, a lower court in North Carolina had previously rejected Kennedy’s request to have his name removed from the ballot. The outlet also noted that all presidential ballots in North Carolina will now have to be reprinted ahead of the election.
