A decision was made by a divided North Carolina election board to further scrutinize the attempts of political organizations to become official state parties by collecting signatures. The We The People party and Justice for All Party of North Carolina initiated petition drives to receive official party designations, with the goal of getting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West on the fall’s presidential ballot in the battleground state. State elections officials confirmed that the groups had turned in more valid signatures than required, leading two Republican board members to support motions to formally recognize the parties so they could field candidates.
However, the three Democrats on the board voted against the motions, citing the need for more examination of the organizations’ operations, including how signatures were collected and how party volunteers presented the petition’s goals to voters. Concerns were raised about potential misrepresentation of Kennedy as an independent candidate rather than someone who could be the party’s nominee. The board tentatively set a July 9 meeting to reconsider the groups’ requests, adding to the uncertainty about who will win North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes in the upcoming election.
Republican board members criticized the decisions by the Democratic majority, stating that it wasn’t the board’s place to question the motives of the organization officials. They argued that the groups had complied with the law and accused Democrats of yielding to political groups who filed objections to the certification requests. Representatives of the petitioning groups defended their activities, while the state Democratic Party accused them of trying to circumvent state law by using the guise of a political party to bypass the qualification process for independent candidates. National Republicans criticized the board’s decisions, with a Trump campaign spokesperson accusing North Carolina Democrats of trying to manipulate the system to help President Biden.
Another third party seeking official status, the Constitution Party, was also denied formal recognition for now, with a reconsideration scheduled for next month. The Constitution Party had been an official party in 2020 but did not perform well enough in the election to remain one. State law requires parties to submit their candidate lists for races other than president and vice president by July 1 and presidential tickets by mid-August. The board is considering whether candidates can be added to ballots after July 1 based on a federal judge’s decision involving Green Party recognition two years ago.
The stakes are raised with the addition of presidential candidates to the ballot, further increasing the uncertainty about the outcome of the election in North Carolina. Republican Donald Trump won the state in both 2016 and 2020, but the margin over Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 was less than 1.4 percentage points. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West are working to secure ballot access in multiple states, with Kennedy officially on the ballot in eight states and West in seven. The decisions made by the North Carolina election board will have implications for the upcoming election and the process for third-party candidates to gain recognition in the state.
