Ballots in limbo as appeal goes to NC Supreme Court

A question over whether presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will appear on North Carolina ballots has reached the state Supreme Court. 

Friday evening, the North Carolina Board of Elections appealed the Court of Appeals’ order issued Friday morning to reprint all ballots without Kennedy’s name. 

In the meantime, with the outcome of the appeal uncertain, the North Carolina State Board of Elections officials have begun coding and proofing new ballots without Kennedy’s name, according to a Friday evening press release, allowing them to comply in a timely manner with the existing court order if it’s not overruled. They will work through the weekend. 

The federal deadline for sending absentee ballots to overseas and military voters is Sept. 21. The State Board said its voting system and ballot printing vendors have estimated it would take 12-13 days to reprint ballots, which would mean ballots could potentially be ready by Sept. 18-19 if estimates are correct and staff work through weekends. 

If the State Board loses its appeal and determines that the Sept. 21 deadline cannot be met, they would then need to request an undue hardship waiver with the U.S. Department of Defense to extend the deadline. Waivers are not automatic and the last one was approved for New York in 2016, while a request from Ohio was denied in 2022.

For now, it will take two to three days to re-code ballots to remove Kennedy’s name, according to the State Board’s appeal to the state Supreme Court. If the court acts before then, state elections officials can avoid “most of the irreparable harm” caused by the Court of Appeals order to reprint ballots, the state board’s legal filing argues. 

Background on ballots

Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign Aug. 23, and announced that he would try to get off the ballot in some states where he could be a “spoiler” for former president Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, while remaining on the ballot in others where the race will likely not be close. 

The We The People party, who nominated Kennedy as their presidential nominee, officially requested his removal from the North Carolina ballot on Wednesday, Aug. 28. The following day, the state board voted to keep Kennedy on the ballot, despite his request, due to “practicality” concerns of reprinting ballots so close to the Sept. 6 statutory deadline for sending out the first absentee ballots.

Several board members argued that reprinting ballots at that stage would cost upwards of a million dollars and take an additional two weeks, which would be past the deadline. 

Kennedy sued. A Wake County superior court agreed with the state board on the merits of the case, but agreed to pause ballot delivery for 24 hours to give Kennedy time to appeal the court’s decision. He promptly did so, and Friday, the Court of Appeals reversed the superior court’s decision. The court asked the superior court to rewrite its order in favor of Kennedy, and compel the State Board to reprint ballots without Kennedy’s name. 

Now, the State Board has appealed that decision to the state’s highest court. They have asked for an expedited decision “so counties will not have to spend additional money preparing and printing new ballots if the state board is successful in its appeal,” the press release stated. 

The board’s appeal argues that the state supreme court should review the appellate court’s decision because the subject matter “has significant public interest” and “involves legal principles of major significance.” 

“The order would have the State’s entire ballot-preparation process stop and reset, costing the State and counties untold amounts of money and constricting by at least two weeks the time period in which voters can cast their ballots,” the appeal states. 

“Equally important, compelling a statewide reprinting process would require elections officials across the State to focus their attention on that process, rather than the many other critical election-preparation tasks that are already at hand.”

It goes on to say that keeping Kennedy on the ballot does not compel speech; “ballots serve to elect candidates, not as forums for political expression.”

What voters should know

Voters who have already requested absentee ballots or who plan to request one should know several things: 

First, those who have requested ballots already do not need to ask for a new one. However, if a voter needs the ballot to be sent to a different address considering the extended timeline, they should complete a new request form with an updated address. 

Second, those who haven’t filled out a request form yet, but plan to, should complete it as soon as possible. The request deadline is Oct. 29 and 5 p.m. for most voters, and 5 p.m. the day before Election Day for military and overseas voters. 

As of now, there will be no deadline extension for turning absentee ballots in. The current deadline is 7:30 p.m. on Election Day; county boards of elections must receive ballots by then to count them, regardless of the postmarked date. 

Third, postage has increased on absentee ballots to $1.77. The State Board said three Forever stamps would cover this. Voters will not be able to see sample ballots on the State Board website until the issue is resolved.

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