State and Federal Court Rulings Guarantee Ballot Spot for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Cornel West, and other Candidates on North Carolina’s 2024 General Election Ballot
Washington, DC (August 13, 2024): In two separate proceedings on Monday, a state court and a federal court ruled that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Dr. Cornel West, and other candidates nominated by their respective parties, must be placed on North Carolina’s 2024 general election ballot. CCD and More Voter Choice Fund (“MVCF”) represented the We the People Party, which nominated Mr. Kennedy, in the state court action, and represented the Justice for All Party, which nominated Dr. Cornel West, in the federal court action.
“As the courts recognized, there was never any doubt that We the People Party and Justice for All Party both satisfied the statutory requirements to be recognized as political parties under North Carolina law, and thus deserved to have their candidates on the ballot for the benefit of North Carolina’s voters” said MVCF Board Chair, Theresa Amato. “The baseless claims asserted against these parties were a transparent attempt to suppress the constitutional rights of North Carolina voters who support Independent and third party candidacies instead of the tired, anti-competitive tropes of the two major parties.”
The North Carolina Democratic Party (“NCDP”) initiated the state court case in Wake County Superior Court and asserted that the North Carolina State Board of Elections (“the Board”) violated North Carolina law by certifying We the People Party as a new party. NCDP conceded that We the People Party complied with all applicable statutory requirements – specifically, that it timely submitted petitions signed by the required number of voters – but contended that the party had been formed for an “impermissible purpose” because its intention was to nominate Mr. Kennedy for President, even though he has stated his intention to run as an independent candidate.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory rejected that argument. Ruling from the bench on Monday, he said that it would be “unconscionable” for the court to hold that a candidate could not rely on the North Carolina statute that expressly authorizes candidates to qualify for the ballot by forming a new political party.
Judge Gregory also ruled – as MVCF counsel Oliver Hall of the Center for Competitive Democracy argued – that the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed that the First Amendment guarantees the right to form political parties.
The federal court proceeding was initiated by voters who support the Justice for All Party after the Board declined to certify the party even though it timely submitted more than enough signatures to satisfy the statutory requirement.
Dr. Cornel West, the party’s nominee for President, and Italo Medelius, its Chair, represented by MVCF, intervened in the case.
In its order granting a preliminary injunction, the federal court concluded that the Board’s denial of Justice for All Party’s certification was a “severe burden” on its constitutional rights because the “hallmark of a severe burden is exclusion or virtual exclusion from the ballot.” The federal court further concluded that the state’s Board failed to assert any interest that could justify that burden.
“We are pleased but not surprised by the Courts’ rulings in these cases,” said Attorney Hall. “There was no basis in fact or law for NCDP’S claims against We the People Party, nor for the Board’s denial of the Justice for All Party’s certification as a new party. Both courts got it right, and all North Carolina voters will benefit as a result.”
The state court case is North Carolina Democratic Party v. North Carolina State Board of Elections, No. 24-CV-023631-910 (Wake Cty. Sup. Ct.).
The federal court case is Ortiz v. North Carolina State Board of Elections, No. 5:24-cv-00420-BO (E.D.N.C.).
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