A North Carolina judge has turned down Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s request to yank his name from the state's presidential ballot. Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt ruled against the temporary restraining order Kennedy sought, in a move made the day before the first chunk of absentee ballots start to make their way to voters. Kennedy's team announced plans to appeal, and Holt gave him 24 hours to do so; as such, absentee ballots likely won't be distributed first thing Friday morning.
Kennedy, who endorsed Donald Trump after suspending his campaign, originally appeared on the ballot as the nominee for the We The People party, which was formed by his supporters. Kennedy asked that his name be withdrawn, but in a divided decision on Aug. 29, the state elections board chose to retain his name citing logistical constraints posed by the already printed ballots. State officials emphasized reprinting ballots would require two additional weeks, potentially breaching federal mandates to mail ballots to military and overseas voters by September 21.
Attorney Phil Strach, representing Kennedy, argued the refusal to remove Kennedy's name violates state law and free speech rights and said it could lead to confusion for voters who knew he had dropped out. Special Deputy Attorney General Carla Babb contended that delaying the ballot issuance would create greater confusion, and reprinting costs would burden taxpayers. Judge Holt concluded the harm to Kennedy from remaining on the ballot was minimal compared to the substantial impact on the state. Kennedy is fighting a similar legal battle in Wisconsin. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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