North Carolina’s board of elections has refused to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the presidential ballot despite his decision to drop out of battleground states.

RFK Jr. announced last week he would remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states, including North Carolina.

BREAKING: The North Carolina Board of Elections just voted to REJECT RFK Jr's request to withdraw his name from the ballot, but any votes he gets WON'T COUNT since he has withdrawn from the race

DEMOCRATS ARE CHEATING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

They're basically using his name to take… pic.twitter.com/szmAHRHhAu

— George (@BehizyTweets) August 29, 2024

Per Axios:

The impact of the move is likely statistically small. But in a state where elections are won on slim margins, Kennedy’s remaining on the ballot could still be enough to sway the presidential election here, though it’s unclear in whose direction.

Kennedy was polling an average of 3.7% in North Carolina as of Aug. 22, per FiveThirtyEight, higher than the margin by which Trump won in 2020.

The majority-Democratic state elections board voted along party lines to reject the We the People party’s request to withdraw its candidate, RFK Jr., in an emergency meeting Thursday, citing the state’s looming deadlines to complete ballot printing.

Removing Kennedy from the ballot would’ve required reprinting some 1.73 million ballots as of Thursday just over a week before absentee ballots are set to go out, per state elections board executive director Karen Brinson Bell.

Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is unable to get his name on the ballot in New York.

RFK Jr. can't get off North Carolina ballot, can't get back on it in New York https://t.co/dati6GLfyO

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) August 29, 2024

From the Associated Press:

Meanwhile, an appeals court in New York rejected Kennedy’s request to get back on the ballot there, upholding a judge’s decision to disqualify him for having lied on elections paperwork about where he lived.

On Friday, Kennedy suspended his independent campaign and endorsed Republican Donald Trump. He has since sought to withdraw his name from the ballot in states where the presidential race is expected to be close, including North Carolina.

Simultaneously, he has tried to stay 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.

A midlevel appeals court on Thursday affirmed a ruling from a trial court judge who said Kennedy falsely claimed to live in New York on his nominating petitions, despite actually living in California.

Like North Carolina, RFK Jr. will remain on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Will Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Still Appear On The Ballot In Battleground States?