On Wednesday, North Carolina’s Democrat-controlled elections board (NCSBE) temporarily denied third party presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West the ability to appear on the state’s November ballot.
In a 3-2 decision, the NCSBE postponed certifying efforts by the We The People party (Kennedy) and Justice for All Party of North Carolina (West) to acquire ballot access for this fall’s elections. The board’s three Democrat members voted against the motion to certify, while the two Republican members voted in favor.
Under North Carolina law, the state elections board is effectively controlled by the party of the governor, a position currently held by Democrat Roy Cooper. A law recently passed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly that sought to evenly split the board’s partisanship was struck down by a state court in March.
According to the Associated Press, North Carolina election officials confirmed to the board that We The People and Justice for All Party of North Carolina “had turned in more valid signatures than the 13,865 that were required” by law to gain ballot access for the November election. Certification of these signatures would have allowed the parties to subsequently nominate Kennedy and West as their respective presidential candidates.
In voting against the motion to certify, the board’s Democrat majority “agreed more examination was needed of the organization[s’] operations, including how signatures were collected, how party volunteers presented the petition’s goals to voters and what information was placed on petition lists.” Democrat member Siobhan O’Duffy Millen
