The North Carolina State Board of Elections has rejected applications from two political parties to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West as candidates.
State election officials confirmed that the We the People Party has submitted more than the 13,865 valid signatures required to register as a political party ahead of the 2024 elections. Justice for All has likewise submitted more than the minimum number of signatures required.
Republican members of the elections board on Wednesday supported the push for formal recognition by both parties, which would allow both parties to select their candidates for office.
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Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holds a press conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to announce his campaign. (Jessica Kourkonis/Getty Images)
Three Democrats on the election committee blocked the motion, voicing concerns about how third parties presented themselves during the signature-gathering process and how voters understood their objectives.
The postponement comes as officials further investigate whether the two parties presented themselves as a coherent political organization or merely as a way to field Messrs. Kennedy and West as “independent” candidates.
Independent candidates in North Carolina would need to gather a much higher 83,188 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
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Presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West attends a rally in Harlem, New York City. (Selcuk Akar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Board Chairman Alan Hirsch told We the People leaders that the challenge was “not intended to negate our status as a political party.”
“This is just to do our job. […] “The people who signed the petition know its purpose and intent,” he explained.
The Election Commission is scheduled to reconvene on July 9 to reconsider the parties’ requests for formal recognition.
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US President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Today, the Democrat-controlled North Carolina State Election Commission, following Joe Biden’s orders, willfully ignored North Carolina law and betrayed the trust of North Carolinians by voting to bar Cornel West and Robert Kennedy Jr. from running for president,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.
Whatley slammed the committee’s decision to delay certification as a “desperate attempt” to keep Kennedy off the ballot — a situation many Democratic strategists have warned could be alarming for President Biden in November.
“This is another example of Democrats destroying faith in America’s democratic institutions and ignoring our electoral process in their desperate efforts to retain political power. We are considering all options to resolve this issue.”
