Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s quest to remove himself from the ballot has complicated ballot rollouts in some swing states.
In August, Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump for president after it became apparent that his own chances to win were extremely slim. However, Kennedy urged his supporters in solidly blue or red states to vote for him, while telling his supporters in swing states to back Trump.
He also said he would try to remove himself from every ballot in a swing state. He’s had mixed success so far.
His request to be removed from the ballot was accepted in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. In North Carolina, a judge ruled, after ballots were already printed with his name on them, that Kennedy could be removed from the ballot, which has complicated their ballot rollout.
Kennedy must remain on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Here’s where his quest to be removed from the ballot has complicated ballot rollouts:
North Carolina
Ballots in North Carolina are being reprinted to exclude Kennedy after he won his challenge to remove his name from the ballot.
After some back and forth with lower North Carolina courts, the state Supreme Court ruled that ballots must be reprinted without Kennedy’s name. The ruling acknowledged the late timing of the order.
“We acknowledge that expediting the process of printing new ballots will require considerable time and effort by our election officials and significant expense to the State. But that is a price the North Carolina Constitution expects us to incur to protect voters’ fundamental right to vote their conscience and have that vote count,” the high court said.
North Carolina’s 100 counties began reprinting ballots two weeks later than they were supposed to be sent to absentee voters in order to comply with the order. The move could cost the state upward of $1 million, according to an estimate by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
“Everything was sealed and ready to go out on Sept. 6, and then we got the directive to basically shred all that and start over,” Danner McCulloh, the Wake County Board of Elections public records coordinator, told the New York Times.
In one county, the change cost $16,000 to reprint the ballots without Kennedy’s name. According to Old Gold & Black, Wake Forest University’s student newspaper, Forsyth County had already printed 64,800 ballots and printed 3,400 new ballots in house, but Kennedy’s request meant 61,400 ballots had to be reprinted by a paid company.
Wisconsin
While Kennedy is currently on the ballot in Wisconsin after a Dane County judge ordered him to stay, he is still trying to get his name off the ballot. Ballots have already been mailed to absentee voters who have requested them in the Badger State.
As of Tuesday, Kennedy is petitioning the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an emergency removal of his name from ballots, but the ballots have already been printed and sent out to voters. Kennedy’s team is asking Wisconsin election officials to place stickers over his name to prevent voters from casting a vote for him.
Wisconsin election officials, however, called the idea a “logistical and administrative nightmare,” as a sticker on the ballot could hinder tabulation efforts.
“With over 1,800 municipal clerks statewide, uniformity of any sticker placement becomes a real concern,” Wood County Clerk Trent Miner told VoteBeat. “Errant sticker placement would produce an error and return the ballot to the voter, uncounted, again sowing distrust in the tabulation and administration of the election.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear his case to the dismay of two conservative judges who voted not to take it.
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“Process matters. The members of the majority sometimes enforce a rule against ‘premature petitions’ but sometimes they don’t, without disclosing any standards by which they will choose whether to apply it. Such arbitrariness by courts is antithetical to the original understanding of the judicial role,” Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote.
Candidates with a party affiliation had until 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 to certify their candidacy in Wisconsin. Independent candidates, such as Kennedy, had until 5 p.m. on Aug. 6., and Kennedy ended his campaign Aug. 23.