North Carolina blocks RFK Jr., Cornell West from ballot – for now
The election board of North Carolina has denied two political parties' bids to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West as their candidates.
State election officials have confirmed that We the People Party submitted more than the 13,865 valid signatures necessary to register as a political party ahead of the 2024 election. The Justice for All Party similarly turned in more than the minimum number of signatures necessary.
Republican members of the election board on Wednesday backed the two parties' push for formal recognition, which would allow them to select candidates for the ballot.
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Three Democrats on the election board blocked the motion, citing concerns about how the third parties presented themselves during the signature gathering process and how voters understood their goals.
A delay has been instituted as officials further investigate whether the two parties presented themselves as coherent political organizations or only as a vehicle for Kennedy and West as "independent" candidates.
Independent candidates in North Carolina are subject to a much higher 83,188 signature threshold to qualify for the ballot.
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Board Chair Alan Hirsch told leaders of We The People that the challenge is "not intended to deny your status as a party."
"It’s just to do our job and to be sure that […] the people that signed the petition know the purpose and intent," he explained.
The elections board will reconvene on July 9 to revisit the parties' demand for formal recognition.
"Today the Democrat-controlled North Carolina Board of Elections has done Joe Biden’s bidding, willfully ignored North Carolina law, and betrayed the public trust of North Carolinians by voting not to qualify Cornel West or Robert Kennedy Jr. for the presidential ballot," said Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley.
Whatley blasted the board's decision to delay certification as a "desperate attempt" to keep Kennedy from the ballot — a situation many Democratic strategists have warned would warn President Biden in November.
"This is one more example of Democrats fracturing trust in America’s democratic institutions and flouting the electoral process in their increasingly desperate attempts to hold onto political power -- we are leaving all options on the table to remedy this issue."