RALEIGH.NC — The North Carolina Democratic Party has challenged the recent decision by the state’s election board to recognize a new political party that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state’s presidential election ballots.
The complaint filed on Thursday aims to overturn the board’s decision. made “We The People” an official party in the presidential battleground state. Administration staff said last week that We The People supporters had turned in enough valid signatures from registered and qualified voters to exceed the petition threshold in state law.
In the complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court, attorneys representing the Democratic Party alleged that Kennedy’s campaign circumvented stricter standards for independent candidates to get on the ballot — six times as many signatures — by posing as a political party, in violation of state law.
The petition instructions for We The People stated that the party’s goal was to get Kennedy on the ballot, the complaint states. Democratic Party lawyers argue that’s not a permissible goal under state law and that Kennedy had to follow the rules for independent candidates.
The board voted 4-1 to certify. Although Democratic Board Chairman Alan Hirsch voted yes, he still said We The People had engaged in “scheming” and suggested that anyone who challenged the vote in court “would have a very good case.”
Representatives of We The People have defended the petition drive as legitimate and in accordance with state law. The party said its candidates would include Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan, along with candidates in two other local races.
The Democratic Party has asked a judge to issue a preliminary injunction by August 16 to prevent ballots from being printed in the fall to block We The People candidates.
Kennedy, an outspoken environmentalist, has long championed liberal causes. But he has also been a leading proponent of vaccine conspiracy theories, a fact that has helped him gain prominence during the pandemic and earned him admiration from conservatives like former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson.
Democrats worry that Kennedy still has enough appeal for left-wing stars, subtract voters from their presidential candidatewho was expected to become President Joe Biden until he dropped his re-election bid earlier this month. Now, Vice President Kamala Harris has secured support for the nomination.
In a 3-2 vote last week, the board’s Democratic majority also voted to reject the Justice for All Party’s petition drive for recognition, which would have landed the professor and progressive activist in hot water. Cornel West on the state presidential ballot. Hirsch said he was concerned about how signatures for the group, which had been collected by another entity, were being gathered.
Republicans criticized the denial, saying Democrats were trying to deny West and Kennedy spots on ballots that would take votes away from the Democratic presidential candidate.
Three registered voters who signed the Justice for All petition has sued the Council of State earlier this week in federal court, hoping to convince a judge that Justice for All is an official party that can field candidates. The attorneys who filed the lawsuit have a history of defending Republican causes.