RFK Jr. will be on NC's 2024 ballot

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on the North Carolina ballot in November after all, the state's elections board decided Tuesday.

Why it matters: The move could have a significant impact on the presidential race in North Carolina, a swing state where elections are decided on the margins.

• The state is also expected to be key to winning the presidency.

Catch up quick: The elections board, made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, rejected initial requests to certify parties associated with RFK Jr. and Cornel West, along with the Constitution Party.

• In response, it faced fierce pushback from the GOP, which accused the board of partisanship, saying that blocking the parties' certification would help Democrats in November.
• It changed course and certified the Constitution Party last week.

The latest: The board then backtracked Tuesday regarding the party representing Kennedy, "We The People," voting 4-1 to certify it.

• But it rejected the West-affiliated "Justice for All" party's bid 3-2, citing evidence of fraud in the signatures it submitted to the board.

The intrigue: The elections board faced pressure from both sides of the aisle in the lead-up to Tuesday's vote, as Democrats questioned the legitimacy of both parties' petitions, and Republicans accused the board of trying to sway the election in Democrats' favor.

• Third-party presidential candidates could ultimately siphon votes away from President Biden and former President Trump, who won North Carolina by just 1.3% in 2020 and 3.6% in 2016.
• A similar fight played out in 2022 after the board rejected the Green Party's petition that year. A judge ultimately ruled that the party would appear on the ballot .

Inside the room: In a now-leaked phone call with Kennedy Monday, Trump told Kennedy he'd "love" for him to "do something" with his campaign, Axios' Erin Doherty reports .

• "It would be so good for you and so big for you," Trump told Kennedy.

How it works: Certification allows a party to put candidates on the ballot and gives voters the ability to register with that party.

• Parties must obtain 13,865 signatures to petition for certification. We The People submitted 18,309.
• North Carolina voters can now register with the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, No Labels, Republican, or We The People parties, or they can register as unaffiliated.
• We The People nominated Kennedy and Nicole Shanahan for president and vice president at a convention in June, along with candidates for a Charlotte state senate district and Rowan County commissioner.

Context: The lone board member to vote against the We The People petition, a Democrat, said Kennedy is affiliated with various parties on ballots in some states and is running independent or unaffiliated in others.

• In Hawaii, Mississippi and now North Carolina, the "so-called party serves as nothing but a special purpose vehicle for Mr. Kennedy's independent candidacy," board member Siobhan Millen said.

As for West's Justice for All party, the board said some signature gatherers did not comply with a subpoena for more information.

• State House Speaker Tim Moore called the board's decision to reject Justice for All "election interference at its worst."

What's next: State lawmakers scheduled will hold a hearing July 23 into the board's handling of the petitions.

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