The Supreme Court of North Carolina ruled Monday that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s name be stricken from ballots for November’s election, forcing them to be reprinted.
North Carolinians who requested them were supposed to start being mailed their ballots on Friday, marking one of the longest voting seasons in the country, but litigation over RFK, Jr.’s name remaining on the ballot after he dropped out and endorsed former President Donald Trump delayed the process.
After dropping out, Kennedy has been trying to help Trump in critical swing states. Depending on the political calculus of the state, he has been trying to remove his name from some ballots and remain on others.
“Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues,” Kennedy said of his strategy.
In North Carolina, Kennedy’s status as a lifelong Democrat from a powerful political dynasty initially prompted Democrats to sue to keep him off the ballot for fear he would sap votes from Vice President Kamala Harris, but now they have been trying to keep him on as it became clear his presence would likely take votes from Trump.
With Kennedy removed, the Trump campaign could benefit by being the next-best option for Kennedy supporters, as polling from just prior to Kennedy dropping out and Biden being removed from the Democrat ticket showed that Kennedy has net positive ratings from Republicans but
