A North Carolina court has decided that Robert Kennedy Jr.’s name will be taken off the presidential ballot, giving Donald Trump a critical advantage in this key swing state.
The court’s ruling emphasized that Kennedy’s supporters might mistakenly vote for him, thinking he was still a candidate, since he stepped out of the race on August 23 and encouraged his followers to back Trump.
“If plaintiff’s name appears on the ballot, it could disenfranchise countless voters who mistakenly believe that plaintiff remains a candidate for office,” noted Supreme Court Justice Trey Allen in the official decision.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Justice Allen pointed out that a lower court had failed to consider the potential impact of keeping Kennedy’s name on the ballot. Instead, it had largely focused on minimal harm to Kennedy and the extensive resources needed to amend the ballot.
He stated that any extra costs incurred by the state for updating the ballots were mostly self-inflicted, as the state was already printing ballots that included Kennedy’s name despite being notified of his withdrawal nearly a week earlier.
“To a large extent, any harm suffered by defendants in light of the Court of Appeals’ order is of their own making,” Allen remarked.
In his ruling, he called for the destruction of all incorrectly printed ballots featuring Kennedy’s name, urging election officials to certify this destruction to uphold public trust in the electoral process.
However, Justice Anita Earls, in her dissent, raised concerns about the logistical challenges of producing a large volume of new ballots so close to the election deadline. She highlighted the complexity of North Carolina’s election system, with 2,348 different ballot styles across the state.
Polling data shows Trump holding a slender 0.1-point lead over Kamala Harris in North Carolina in a direct matchup, whereas when including other minor candidates, Harris leads by 0.4 points. This emphasizes the significant role that lesser-known candidates can play in shaping the election outcome.
The North Carolina court’s narrow 4-3 ruling coincided with a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled that Kennedy’s name must remain on their ballot, even against his wishes.
Kennedy has expressed his intention to withdraw his name from ballots in states where his absence might bolster Trump’s chances and is also pursuing legal action to remove his name from the Wisconsin ballot.