North Carolina is now scrambling to reprint millions of ballots after RFK Jr. ruling

North Carolina, which was slated to be the first state in the country to begin mail-in voting this year, is now scrambling to reprint millions of ballots.

Context: The state's conservative-majority Supreme Court sided with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , ruling late Monday that the North Carolina State Board of Elections must remove him from the ballot.

Why it matters: The ruling likely caps a monthslong saga of Kennedy's fight to get on — and now, off — the ballot and came three days after the Sept. 6 deadline, as set in state law, to send absentee ballots had already passed.

• It's now unclear when the nearly 150,000 North Carolina voters who have requested absentee ballots so far will receive them.
• Whether the state will meet the federal deadline to distribute ballots to overseas and military voters remains up in the air.

What they're saying: "This decision imposes a tremendous hardship on our county boards, at an extremely busy time," state elections board executive director Karen Brinson Bell said in a statement .

Catch up quick: The Democratic-majority state board initially rejected but ultimately voted in mid-July to certify Kennedy's party , We the People, allowing Kennedy on the ballot.

• Less than six weeks after that board's decision, Kennedy announced he was dropping out of the race , but county elections boards in North Carolina continued to prepare ballots.
• Kennedy's party formally requested to be removed from North Carolina ballots five days later. The state board called an emergency meeting and voted along party lines to keep him on the ballot. Kennedy sued, and the case began working its way through the courts.

We have many questions ourselves about the impact of Monday's ruling.

• Here are the answers to some of those questions.

How many ballots were printed before the court's Monday ruling?

2.9 million , the State Board of Elections said Tuesday .

How much will it cost elections officials to reprint ballots?

Approximately $1 million , but the board doesn't have a firm number, its spokesperson Pat Gannon told Axios.

• The cost will vary by county depending on how many ballots were printed or will need to be reprinted in each, Gannon said. The board plans to survey counties for costs, but it's unclear when it will have reliable data, he said.

When will new ballots go out?

It's unclear , but expect them "in the next couple weeks," when all 100 counties have new ballots ready to send, per the State Board of Elections.

• "Our state's elections officials will have to work around the clock and on weekends to reformat, reprint, and reassemble ballots," according to the board's appeal .
• All ballots will go out the same day to ensure voters "have the same amount of time to cast their ballots," the board said.

What happens if the state doesn't meet the federal deadline of Sept. 21 to distribute overseas and military ballots?

The board is in discussions with the U.S. Department of Defense and is seeking a waiver of that deadline, but its goal is still to meet it, the board said in a statement.

Will sending out ballots a few weeks late really make that much of a difference?

The board's lawyers said yes: "Absentee voters — including members of our military — will have significantly less time to receive their ballots, fill them out, and return them."

• Republican Senate leader Phil Berger argued no: "We're still two months away from the election itself," he told reporters Monday afternoon, before the state Supreme Court's ruling. "If there is a delay of a week, two weeks, I just don't see where it makes that much difference."

When did county boards stop printing the ballots?

Sept. 6 , with the Court of Appeals order, per Gannon.

What's the board doing with the old ballots?

The state board ordered county boards to move all old ballots with RFK Jr.'s name to storage so that no wrong ballots are accidentally sent to voters.

• The board is working on what will happen to the ballots after that, Gannon said. How counties destroy them will vary by county.
• Still, state Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. — the Senate leader's son — argued in his concurring opinion that the existence of invalid ballots is concerning.
• "There are now hundreds of thousands of invalid ballots in existence, if not more," Berger wrote.
• "Thus, there is the potential, however slight, that North Carolina voters could acquire both versions of seemingly legitimate ballots during the 2024 election. Whether by unintentional acts or by those who would deliberately inject chaos into the election, the substantial confusion that could result would appear to warrant attention."

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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