NC Board of Elections files appeal with state Supreme Court to keep RFK Jr. on NC ballot

[ad_1]

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The NC Board of Elections is appealing an order from the North Carolina Court of Appeals to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from the state’s ballot.

The state Board of Elections filed the petition with the North Carolina Supreme Court Friday afternoon, hours after the state Court of Appeals ordered Kennedy’s name removed from ballots and blocked ballots with his name on them from being sent out.

In the appeal, the state board asked the North Carolina Supreme Court for an expedited decision to prevent counties from spending additional money on preparing and printing new ballots if the request is successful. The state board noted the county boards of elections are responsible for ballot-related costs in North Carolina.

State elections director Karen Brinson Bell has asked counties to ensure ballots will be ready to go out to absentee voters no later than September 21, the federal deadline to send them out in a presidential election. Voting system and ballot printing vendors have indicated that it may take an additional 12-13 days to carry out the reprinting of ballots. If these tasks cannot be completed by Sept. 21, the state may request a waiver to the federal deadline, according to the state board.

The state board said Brinson Bell also told county officials not to send any ballots until a date is determined for all counties to do so to ensure the voting period is the same for all absentee-by-mail voters.

The 100 county boards planned to send the first wave of ballots Friday to eligible absentee voters who requested the ballots before the state Court of Appeals’ ruling. This would have made North Carolina the first state to send ballots to voters for the Nov. 5 general election. As of Friday afternoon, according to the state board, more than 136,300 voters had requested absentee ballots statewide, including about 12,700 military and overseas voters.

[ad_2]

Matthew Sockol

Source link