NC ballot access denied for West, RFK Jr. parties. But the decision may not be final.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections’ Democratic majority denied certification to three political parties on Wednesday, all of which sought to place independent presidential candidates on the ballot in November.
Unless it is later reversed, the board’s decision means that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West will not appear on North Carolina’s ballot as presidential candidates with their new parties, called “We The People” and “Justice for All,” respectively.
The board’s chair, Alan Hirsch, said the decision is not final, though a looming candidate filing deadline could complicate matters.
The board also denied certification to the right-wing Constitution Party, which aims to run candidates up and down the ballot, including anti-abortion activist Randall Terry for president.
Concerns about improper addresses, misleading petition-gatherers and voters who asked their signatures to be removed prompted Democrats on the board to deny certification, they said. However, members stressed that they were voting no “for now” until more investigation could be done.
The board’s two Republicans supported certifying the parties.
“I must say I’m disappointed with how we have handled this issue,” Republican member Stacy “Four” Eggers said. “Because it just appears to me that this is yielding to political pressure from respective parties and political action groups to keep other candidates and other parties who are not our parties off the ballot.”
The vote comes after weeks of pressure from Democrats and a group tied to former President Joe Biden that is seeking to keep independent presidential challengers off the ballot across the country.
The group, Clear Choice Action, sent a lengthy letter to the state board earlier this month alleging that it had found thousands of deficiencies in JFA’s petition sheets. Clear Choice also contacted signers of Kennedy’s and West’s petitions to question them about their decision.
Their letter also referenced reporting from NBC News, which found that one Republican activist collecting signatures for Justice for All told attendees at a Trump rally in North Carolina that having the left-wing West on the ballot “helps take away votes from Joe Biden.”
The North Carolina Democratic Party also submitted challenges of Kennedy’s and West’s parties to the state board.
“The State Board of Elections’ majority have shown yet again there is no action too outrageous or too radical they won’t make to protect Joe Biden and Democrats,” NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer said in a statement.
Hirsch said the board will further investigate concerns about the parties’ petition process and take a second vote next month — after the July 1 deadline in law for new candidates to file for office.
The board’s lawyer said he does not believe the July 1 deadline applies to presidential candidates.
Litigation could also challenge the board’s decision, as happened in 2022 when the board initially denied certification to the Green Party. In that case, the board later reversed its decision and a judge’s order allowed the Greens to place their candidates on the ballot.
Why did board members vote against certification?
Members cited specific concerns about each party’s petition process, though most dealt with issues surrounding the petitioners’ obligation to communicate the purpose and intent of their party to voters.
With Justice For All, board members cited the NBC reporting involving a Republican activist saying the party would help Trump win.
With We The People, board members took issue with wording in the scripts petition-gatherers used, one of which referred to Kennedy as an “independent.”
Members also noted a letter from the Elias Group, a major law firm with ties to Democratic politicians, which sent affidavits from 26 voters who said they wished to remove their signatures from the We The People party’s petition.
There is no process in law for a petition-signer to remove their signature.
