While one party is denied, RFK Jr. gains ballot access in NC after bumpy road

After an internal investigation and concerns over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s party We the People's purpose and intent, the North Carolina State Board of Elections voted to approve the party for ballot access on Tuesday.

It's been a bumpy process for We the People as the board questioned whether signees were aware that the petition created an entirely new party or if it was solely to get RFK Jr. on the ballot.

In the 4-1 vote, Democratic board member Siobhan O’Duffy Millen, the only "no" vote, said RFK Jr. was side-stepping the process by petitioning under a new party and not as an unaffiliated candidate, which have different petition count thresholds.

In the same board of elections meeting, Cornel West's party Justice for All was denied ballot access citing possible fraud in signature collection.

"Both candidates, Kennedy and West, by their actions have demonstrated that their purpose is to get on various state's ballots by any means necessary with no regard to the particulars of the political party," Millen said.

It takes about 70,000 more signatures to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate compared to a new party.

Republican board member Kevin N. Lewis said he doesn't see any issue if the party's main concern was to get Kennedy on the ballot. Stacy "Four" Eggers IV echoed Lewis' support of the party saying they have more than enough signatures.

"I think that we are bound to approve these parties whether we like the candidates running or not," Eggers said. "Or whether we intend to vote for them or whether we're concerned they're going to take votes away from one of our preferred candidates."

Alan Hirsch, the Democratic chairman of the board, remained unsure about the party's purpose and intent in collecting petition signatures, but he ultimately voted to approve the party.

"I think it's a very, very close call and I am going to reluctantly vote to recognize We the People, even though I believe there has been subterfuge, fundamentally because I think that it is such a close call that ultimately a court would have to decide it," Hirsch said.

We the People had its state nominating convention at the end of June where it chose RFK Jr. for president, Nicole Shanahan for vice president, Jeff Scott for North Carolina Senate and Mark Ortiz for Rowan County Commissioner, We the People Vice Chair Ryan Rabah, said in the email.

Jason Simmons, North Carolina GOP chairman, condemned the rejection of Justice for All in an email statement, saying it was a decision made to support Joe Biden's run for president.

On the other hand, Clear Choice Action found the approval of We the People to be driven by Republican desires.

“Both of these candidates are attempting to play by a different set of rules than everyone else, and exempt themselves from the signature threshold required for an independent presidential candidate," Pete Kavanaugh, founder of Clear Choice Action wrote in a statement. "These are two sham parties driven by Republican operatives that result from neither candidate being able to show the level of support required by North Carolina law to get on the ballot as an independent candidate.”

North Carolina voters will now be able to register under We the People as a party and vote for RFK Jr. in November.

Sarah Gleason is the North Carolina Election Reporting Fellow based in Raleigh. Email her at SGleason@gannett.com.