- The North Carolina Democratic Party is seeking an emergency injunction to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the We the People Party from the state's November ballot.
- Court documents filed this week seek a ruling by Aug. 16 that would reverse the State Board of Elections' decision to grant ballot access to We the People.
- Democrats accuse Kennedy of taking advantage of rules established for new political parties to evade state petition signature requirements for independent candidates.
The state Democratic Party is seeking an injunction to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his We the People Party from North Carolina’s election ballot this fall. Documents filed in Wake County Superior Court seek a court order by Aug. 16.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 4-1 on July 16 to give We the People ballot access for November. At the same meeting, the board rejected the Justice for All Party linked to left-of-center activist and academic Cornel West. A federal lawsuit is challenging the board’s decision against Justice for All.
A lawsuit from the North Carolina Democratic Party seeks to overturn the board’s decision about the party linked to RFK Jr., son of an assassinated 1968 Democratic presidential candidate and nephew of assassinated Democratic president John F. Kennedy.
“North Carolina law establishes different ballot-access requirements for unaffiliated candidates and political parties,” Democratic Party lawyers wrote. “One difference is the number of signatures required to get on the ballot: unaffiliated candidates must gather signatures from 1.5% of the voters in the last gubernatorial election, but new parties need only collect from 0.25%.”
“These signature requirements are different because the ‘attempt to form a new political party and the act of seeking office as an unaffiliated candidate ‘are entirely different’ endeavors,’” the complaint continued.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced many times that he is running as an independent candidate for President of the United States,” Democratic lawyers wrote. “In November 2023, Kennedy registered in North Carolina as an unaffiliated candidate and thus had to gather signatures from 83,188 registered voters (1.5%). But in January 2024, the Kennedy campaign decided that it would be easier to form a new political party — the WTP Party — with the ‘sole purpose’ of placing Kennedy’s name on the ballot. Through this maneuver, the Kennedy campaign purported to reduce its signature requirement from 83,188 (1.5%) to 13,865 (0.25%).”
The complaint cites comments from the elections board’s chairman, Democrat Alan Hirsch.
“Hirsch found that the WTP Party was a ‘subterfuge’ — a candidate campaign committee masquerading as a political party — but voted ‘reluctantly’ in favor of recognition because ‘ultimately a court would have to decide’ whether North Carolina law permits that maneuver,” Democrats’ lawyers wrote. “Hirsch explained that he was ‘not sure the Board should be the one that is standing in the way if someone wants to challenge that in court’ and opined that the challenger would ‘have a good case.’”
“The NCDP files this lawsuit so that a court can decide that important, recurring question,” the complaint explained. “The Board’s decision here collapses the distinction between candidates and parties, permitting campaign committees such as the Kennedy campaign to circumvent not only ballot-access rules but also the limits on campaign contributions and expenditures.”
“The Court should declare that North Carolina does not permit candidate campaigns to use the new-party recognition process to evade the requirements applicable to unaffiliated candidates,” Democratic lawyers wrote.
Democrats are seeking a court order within the next three weeks. “The Democratic Party requests relief by August 16, 2024 to ensure there is sufficient time for the Board to print ballots for the November 5, 2024 general election,” lawyers wrote in a court filing seeking an emergency injunction. “North Carolina is the first in the nation to send out absentee ballots. Our state requires that absentee ballots be provided to voters 60 days before the election by September 6, 2024-unless an exception applies.”
While state courts will address We the People’s ballot access, a federal judge will hold a hearing Tuesday in Elizabeth City on the separate lawsuit challenging the elections board’s decision to reject the Justice for All Party.
That party is also seeking an injunction to force elections officials to place JFA and West on the 2024 general election ballot.