Reports: Kennedy sues North Carolina Board of Elections to get his name off the ballot
WASHINGTON - Former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sued the North Carolina Board of Elections to get his name off the ballot in the crucial battleground state ahead of the November election, according to The Washington Post and The News & Observer.
His latest move comes after the North Carolina Board of Elections voted to deny his request of taking his name off the ballot given that counties in the state have already printed absentee ballots with his name on it before they are mailed to voters on Sept. 6.
Kennedy suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump, saying in a virtual address that he would take his name off about ten battleground states where he could act as “ a spoiler.”
"It would not be practical to reprint ballots that have already been printed and meet the state law deadline to start absentee voting," the North Carolina Board of Elections said in a statement.
The News & Observer reported that Kennedy’s lawsuit, filed in the Wake County Superior Court Friday, alleged that “by refusing to acknowledge Kennedy’s statutory rights and entitlements, defendants have irreparably harmed him."
“Even worse, by forcing Kennedy to remain on the ballot against his will, defendants are compelling speech in violation of (the Constitution),” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also claimed that, “To the extent NCSBE claims it is ‘impractical’ to remove him from the ballot, it is an issue of NCSBE’s own making."