NORTH CAROLINA — Following ongoing accusations of biased decision-making, the state board of elections disagreed on whether denying third parties ballot access threatens democracy; however, it voted to add at least one more name to the presidential category in the 2024 election.
READ MORE: RFK Jr., Cornel West still not on NC ballot, state BOE investigates petitions to add them
In Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved the We the People Party, which represents Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a 4-1 vote, with Siobhan Millen dissenting. The board also rejected the Justice for All Party representing Cornel West by a 3-2 vote, with Republicans Kevin Lewis and Stacy Eggers voting to put the party on the ballot.
While the board initially had reservations about both parties, they determined the We the People petition was more trustworthy than the Justice for All petition, after Millen read a sample pitch offered to signers from volunteers. The script states by signing, petition participants will “ensure we have a choice beyond the mainstream candidates in 2024” and that the petition’s sole purpose is to place candidate West on the ballot.
The vote on the third-party additions came after a three week delay. The state board requested an investigation into the legitimacy of the signatures of both petitions last month, and postponed voting on their access in a July 10 meeting because they said there was still not enough information.
Conservative groups, such as the nonprofit group called the “Fair Election Fund” and the North Carolina Republican and Libertarian parties, are saying the board purposely delayed giving Kennedy Jr. and West ballot access to better Joe Biden’s chances of getting electoral college votes from North Carolina. Both candidates are considered threats to Biden’s campaign because they could take away left-wing votes from the president in November.
The Fair Election Fund has been issuing ads claiming the Democratic-majority board is “tipping the scales” in cherry-picking parties on the ballot to prevent competition for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The ad claims anyone who has knowledge of an NCSBE “shady backroom deal” — no other context as to when or how this occurred was provided — could receive financial compensation for calling the group and providing information. The Fair Election Fund allegedly has $5 million available to pay informants.
The one-minute video also states the three Democrats on the board — Millen, Alan Hirsch and Jeff Carmon — “sheltered Biden from Primary competition” and references Millen and Hirsch’s attempts to stop the No Labels Party from appearing on ballots last year.
Port City Daily reached out to the state board about the allegations and spokesperson Patrick Gannon said they had no comment.
Millen, who gave a lengthy statement at the beginning of the two parties’ discussion period during Tuesday’s meeting, explained in depth her opposition to recognizing We the People and Justice For All as true political parties. She said there were inconsistent methods both West and Kennedy used to get on ballots across the country.
She highlighted Kennedy is running as an independent in some states, but also listed on ballots as a part of six different parties in other various states. West is taking a similar approach, as he has switched the party he planned to run with multiple times and is now affiliated with at least four different parties.
Millen said that this method of obtaining ballot access goes against state statute, which notes political parties are intended to be “more than a transitory entity designed to be a vehicle for a single candidate.”
Board member Smith starkly disagreed.
“I don’t think statutorily there’s any issue with a party being formed for the sole purpose or a purpose of just putting their preferred candidate on the ballot,” he said.
At the last meeting, Millen questioned the signatures the ballots received that would allow a third-party candidate access in North Carolina because she thought an investigation into results – while only of a small number of signers – could indicate all the signers were mislead by the petition’s intent.
Eggers, who offered support for the two parties, said the board was making a “tragic error” in not trusting the signatures verified by county elections boards for the Justice for All Party. He also defended the members of the board under fire.
“There’s been a certain ad campaign around the Raleigh-Triangle area targeting my Democratic colleagues, which I don’t believe is an appropriate way to proceed with discourse and things,” he said. “Although I strongly disagree with the direction I think this vote is going, I do appreciate the service of my colleagues and their thoughtful consideration of these issues.”
Eggers and Smith disagreed with the vote to eliminate the Justice For All Party because they do not think the results of the investigation conducted by the state board staff indicate foul play since they only covered a small margin of the required 13,000 signers of each petition.
“Justice for All has submitted well over the number of petitions required and if we don’t approve them as a new party in the state of North Carolina, based on talking to 49 people, I think that would be Injustice for All,” Smith said.
The 49 people were the only ones to respond to staff out of 250. Of those reached, 18 said they did not sign the petition, three did not recall signing and roughly eight said they were not told the purpose and intent of the party upon signing.
Hirsch pointed out that since over half of the random sample of people said the petition was administered unethically: “There’s no telling how many others were done in that way.”
After press, the Justice for All Party announced it would assess its options in coming days to combat the board’s decision. It cited equal fairness and “opportunity in the political arena, especially given the approval of petitions from other third-party entities.”
“The decision by the North Carolina State Board of Elections not only harms the Justice for All party’s efforts but also signals a broader threat to the principles of open democratic participation,” West wrote in the release.
To date, he and his running mate Melina Abdullah have either secured or are awaiting certification on ballots in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina, Utah, Oregon, Alaska, and Vermont.
Also in a release Wednesday, Kennedy and We the People North Carolina Vice Chair Ryan Rabah praised the party’s inclusion on both Michigan and North Carolina ballots, both swing states. Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan are included in 10 states but have collected enough signatures needed for ballot access in 18 more. This would amount to 384 out of 538 total electoral votes if all are accepted.
“These candidates are steadfast in their commitment to our core values,” Rabah said in a release. “These commitments include dismantling the two-party duopoly, fostering peaceful dialogue, and safeguarding constitutional freedoms.”
Kennedy’s campaign is also under scrutiny in Nevada, as the state questions the candidate’s methods for gaining ballot access. In the release Wednesday, the independent candidate called the DNC challenges unsubstantiated, having also recently defeated one in Hawaii. The party collected almost double the required number of signatures to be included in North Carolina.
“I want to thank the thousands of volunteers and supporters in North Carolina who made this victory possible,” Kennedy said. “This shows that the DNC’s challenges are frivolous and we will defeat them all.”
In a leaked phone call that came out Tuesday morning following the attempted assassination of the 45th president, Donald Trump tried to convince Kennedy to endorse him in the presidential election instead.
“We’re gonna win, we’re gonna win,” Trump told Kennedy. “We’re way ahead of the guy.”
Trump was referencing President Biden, reiterating to Kennedy a conversation he had with the commander in chief following Saturday’s shooting at a Pennsylvania rally. Trump also boasted about narrowly missing the near-fatal bullet that grazed his ear.
“It felt giant,” Trump said. “Like the world’s largest mosquito.”
The video has now been deleted and Kennedy apologized to Trump for the leak.
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