小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪正在起诉北卡罗莱纳州选举委员会，试图在2024年总统大选前将他的名字从该州的选票中删除。
诉讼提交在威克县高级法院周五说，董事会拒绝他的要求，删除他的名字作为第三方总统候选人违反了国家选举法和他的言论自由权，根据新闻&观察者和WRAL.
“随着11月大选的临近和投票截止日期的临近，肯尼迪别无选择，只能向法院寻求立即救济，”诉讼称。
因为他暂停竞选，支持前总统唐纳德·特朗普今年8月，肯尼迪试图在竞争可能很激烈的州撤回自己的名字，比如北卡罗来纳州。
与此同时，肯尼迪努力争取留在他所在的纽约州等州的选票上不太可能有所不同在川普和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯的争斗中。
除非法院介入，否则肯尼迪的名字将出现在11月北卡罗来纳州的选票上。
周四，北卡罗莱纳州委员会的三名民主党人以票数超过两名共和党人，拒绝了将肯尼迪和他的竞选伙伴妮可·沙纳汉从选票的“我们人民”政党路线中删除的请求。
民主党多数派表示，考虑到该州100个县中的67个已经开始印刷选票，第一批选票必须在9月6日之前发出，为时已晚。
委员会执行主任卡伦·布林森·贝尔说，大多数县的主要供应商已经印刷了超过170万张选票，重印将花费数十万美元。
“当我们谈论印制选票时，我们不是在谈论...在复印机上按“复印”键。这是一个更加复杂和多层次的过程，”布林森·贝尔告诉董事会.
两位共和党人不同意，并表示委员会可以推迟缺席投票的法定截止日期。
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奥利维亚·迪亚兹是美联社/美国州议会新闻倡议报道的团队成员。为美国报道是一个非盈利性的全国性服务项目，将记者安排在当地的新闻编辑室，报道未被报道的问题。
RFK Jr. sues to get his name off North Carolina ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections in a last-ditch attempt to get his name removed the state’s ballot ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court Friday says the board's denial of his request to remove his name as a third-party presidential candidate violated state election law and his right to free speech, according to The News & Observer and WRAL.
“With November election looming and ballot deadlines fast-approaching, Kennedy has no choice but to turn to this Court for immediate relief,” the lawsuit states.
Since he suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in August, Kennedy has sought to withdraw his name in states where the race could be close, such as North Carolina.
At the same time, Kennedy made an effort to remain on the ballot in states like New York where his presence is unlikely to make a difference in the battle between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Unless the court intervenes, Kennedy’s name will appear on the North Carolina ballot in November.
On Thursday, the North Carolina board’s three Democrats outvoted two Republicans to reject the request to remove Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, from the ballot's “We The People” party line.
The Democratic majority said it was too late, given that 67 of the state’s 100 counties had begun printing ballots, the first of which must be sent out by Sept. 6.
The main vendor for most of the counties already printed more than 1.7 million ballots, and reprints would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said.
“When we talk about the printing a ballot we are not talking about ... pressing ‘copy’ on a Xerox machine. This is a much more complex and layered process,” Brinson Bell told the board.
The two Republicans disagreed and said the board could delay the statutory deadline for absentee ballots.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
