By Jonah Auslander
The Kennedy name has been a staple of American politics going as far back as John F. Kennedy’s presidential victory in 1960.[1] Ever since the 1960 election, members of the Kennedy family have found themselves in the news for various reasons.[2] One Kennedy family member that has recently been a topic of discussion is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Kennedy)[3], son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy rose to prominence as an environmental attorney, where he attacked big pollution and championed clean water and air initiatives.[4] But he has lately found himself at the heart of various controversies by supporting anti-vaccine initiatives, spreading John F. Kennedy death conspiracies, and blaming gender dysphoria on chemicals in the environment.[5] Despite his involvement in these controversies, Kennedy expressed presidential aspirations and announced his intention to challenge Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination[6]. Less than six months later, Kennedy changed tactics and announced that he would continue his presidential campaign as an Independent candidate.[7]
Once again, Kennedy shook up the political landscape on August 23, 2024 and announced that he would suspend his campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump.[8] Kennedy stated that he “no longer believe[d] that [he] ha[d] a realistic path to electoral victory,”[9] and that he would “now throw [his] support to President Trump.”[10] So as not to disadvantage President Trump, Kennedy attempted to withdraw his name from the presidential ballot in many battleground states. [11]
One of these states was North Carolina, which has given Kennedy headaches.[12] The North Carolina State Board of Elections rejected Kennedy’s request to remove himself from the ballot, citing that “it would not be practical to reprint ballots that have already been printed and meet the state law deadline to start absentee voting.”[13] The board also claimed that reprinting the ballots would leave North Carolina counties “without ballots until mid-September at the earliest and lead to significant additional costs.”[14] In an effort to force the hand of the North Carolina State Elections Board, Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court alleging that the state had “irreparably harmed” him and interfered with his right to free speech by denying his request for removal from the ballot.[15]
However, on September 5, 2024, Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt denied Kennedy’s request to stop the county elections boards from distributing ballots affixed with his name to their constituents.[16] Judge Holt cited a state law that directs the first absentee ballots for the Nov. 5 , 2024 elections be mailed to requesters starting on Friday, August 6.[17] After the ruling, a Kennedy representative stated that the decision would be appealed.[18] In anticipation of Kennedy’s appeal, Judge Holt ordered the election board to stop sending out absentee ballots before noon on Friday, August 6.[19] The North Carolina Court of Appeals sided with Kennedy and halted the election board distribution of ballots naming him as a presidential nominee in order “to prevent the dissemination of inaccurate ballots.”[20] The North Carolina State Elections Board then formally requested that the North Carolina Supreme Court reverse the Court of Appeals’ decision. But the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s decision, stating that the Court “acknowledge[s] 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.”[21]
With the North Carolina Supreme Court taking Kennedy’s side,[22] Wisconsin and Michigan remain the only state refusing to remove Kennedy from the ballot.[23]
[1] Campaign of 1960, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (last visited Sept. 6, 2024), https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/campaign-of-1960.
[2] See Richard Cavendish, The Assassination of Robert Kennedy, History Today (June 6, 2008), https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/assassination-robert-kennedy; Tina Cassidy, The Surprising Role Jackie Kennedy Onassis Played in Saving Grand Central, Bloomberg (Feb. 5, 2013), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-05/the-surprising-role-jackie-kennedy-onassis-played-in-saving-grand-central; Charity Group Recalls John Kennedy Jr., The New York Times (Dec. 8, 1999), https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/08/nyregion/charity-group-recalls-john-kennedy-jr.html:; John A. Farrell, Ted Kennedy’s Complicated Legacy, From Chappaquidick to Senate Lion, Time (Oct. 29, 2022), https://time.com/6226087/edward-kennedy-biography/.
[3] Max Matza, RFK wins bid to remove name from ballot in two swing states, BBC News (Sept. 6, 2024), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2lzly212do.
[4] Robert F Kennedy Jr. takes big business to task over pollution at SXSW Eco, The Guardian (Oct. 10, 2016), https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/oct/10/robert-f-kennedy-jr-sxsw-eco-climate-change-big-business-economic-policy.
[5] Brigid Kennedy, A running list of RFK Jr.’s controversies, The Week (July 31, 2023), https://theweek.com/2024-presidential-election/1025265/a-running-list-of-rfk-jrs-controversies.
[6] Rashard Rose et al., Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a democrat, CNN (Apr. 5, 2023), https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/politics/robert-kennedy-president-democratic-nomination/index.html.
[7] Aaron Pellish, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces independent run for president, ending Democratic primary challenge to Biden, CNN (Oct. 9, 2023), https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/politics/kennedy-independent-campaign/index.html.
[8] Kathryn Watson, RFK. Jr. endorses Trump and suspends presidential campaign, CBS News (Aug. 23, 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-ends-presidential-bid/.
[9] Id.
[10] Jonathan J. Cooper et al., RFK Jr. suspends his presidential bid and backs Donald Trump before appearing with him at his rally, AP News (Aug. 23, 2024), https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-trump-speech-arizona-a2638f89ddcb5de03edbe4574ca17d45.
[11] Watson, supra note 8.
[12] Robert Tait, RFK Jr sues North Carolina elections board to remove his name from the ballot, The Guardian (Sept. 1, 2024), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/01/rfk-jr-sues-north-carolina-elections-board-over-ballot.
[13] Key Swing State Rejects Request to Remove RFK Jr. From Ballot, Newsweek (Aug. 29, 2024), https://www.newsweek.com/north-carolina-swing-state-robert-f-kennedy-jr-2024-election-1946391.
[14] Id.
[15] Nadine Yousif, RFK Jr sues to remove name from North Carolina ballot, BBC (Sept. 1, 2024), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgw9dg55l9o.
[16] Gary D. Robertson, North Carolina judge rejects RFK Jr.’s request to remove his name from state ballots, AP News (Sept. 5, 2024), https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-ballot-rfk-lawsuit-823b4e93686561e66fd085a540a40665.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Kennedy v. N.C. State Bd. of Elections, No. 235P24, 2024 N.C. LEXIS 755, *7 (N.C. Sept. 9, 2024).
[21] Id.
[22] Jordan Rubin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is of North Carolina ballot, thanks to GOP-majority state Supreme Court, MSNBC News (Sept. 10, 2024), https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/robert-f-kennedy-jr-north-carolina-ballot-removal-rcna170421.
[23] [23] Kyle Jones, RFK Jr. turn to appeals court in effort to be removed from Wisconsin ballot, Channel 3000 (Sept. 10, 2024), https://www.channel3000.com/news/rfk-jr-turns-to-appeals-court-in-effort-to-be-removed-from-wisconsin-ballot/article_25691004-6fa2-11ef-a709-03ff6dde572e.html; Jane C. Timm et al., RFK Jr. will appear on Michigan’s ballot, state Supreme Court rules, NBC News (Sep. 9, 2024), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-will-appear-michigan-ballot-state-supreme-court-rules-rcna170289.