RFK Jr.'s fight to get off the ballot is causing chaos in North Carolina
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- RFK Jr. wants off North Carolina ballots to help Donald Trump win.
- The legal battle could delay mail-in voting in a critical swing state, WRAL reported.
- Kennedy is also trying to get off the ballot in other major swing states after endorsing Trump.
Mail-in voting for North Carolina, a critical swing state, could be delayed as the former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fights to get his name taken off the ballots.
WRAL reported ballots were supposed to start going out Friday — the state deadline. But the North Carolina Court of Appeals ordered a pause, telling officials to reprint ballots without Kennedy's name.
The ballot overhaul — which is key to Kennedy's plan to boost former President Donald Trump's chances against Vice President Kamala Harris — could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and result in delays stretching weeks, WRAL said.
It's the latest turn in a lengthy legal back-and-forth in North Carolina — and more challenges may come.
Kennedy first asked to be removed from North Carolina mail-in ballots days after he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, which was after many counties had already started printing their ballots.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections refused, so he sued.
On Thursday, a judge sided with the NCSBE and ruled that Kennedy's name would remain on the ballot. But on Friday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned that decision.
The NCSBE could still appeal.
The agency provided Business Insider with a memo from its general counsel, Paul Cox, addressed to county election directors. The memo said NCSBE attorneys were reviewing the matter but that no decision had been made about an appeal.
The memo also told the directors not to send out any ballots and to continue holding the existing ballots.
The Kennedy campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While his status in North Carolina remains up in the air, similar requests by Kennedy to be removed from ballots in swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado have been denied.
But a Michigan appeals court overturned the denial and ordered that Kennedy be taken off the ballot. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson plans to appeal that ruling, NBC News reported.