North Carolina Democrats sue to reverse decision that put RFK Jr. on ballots

RALEIGH. N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Democratic Party has challenged the state election board’s recent decision to recognize a new political party that will put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state’s presidential ballots.

The complaint filed Thursday seeks to reverse the board’s action that made “We The People” an official party in the presidential battleground state. Board staff last week said that supporters of We The People turned in enough valid signatures from registered and qualified voters to exceed the petition threshold in state law.

In the complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court, lawyers representing the Democratic Party alleged that Kennedy’s campaign evaded tougher standards for independent candidates to get on the ballot — six times as many signatures — by masquerading as a political party in violation of state law.

Petition instructions for We The People stated the party’s purpose was to put Kennedy on the ballot, the complaint contends. According to the Democratic Party’s lawyers, that’s not a permissible purpose under state law, and Kennedy needed to follow the rules for independent candidates.

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