Constitution Party approved for NC ballots as GOP pushes for RFK Jr., Cornel West to be added too

The Constitution Party, a conservative political party closely associated with the Christian right, will be allowed to nominate candidates for president, governor and other offices in this year's elections following a unanimous vote by the State Board of Elections on Tuesday.

But the board didn’t approve parties representing presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West to be added to the ballot — at least for now — as officials continue to investigate legal questions surrounding their petitions. That move drew criticism from Republicans who claimed that the board’s Democratic majority was trying to tilt the November ballot in favor of President Joe Biden.

West and, to a lesser extent, Kennedy are seen as being more likely to take votes away from Biden than Republican challenger Donald Trump. West is a progressive philosopher and theologian known for his work on race and left-wing political thought. Kennedy is the nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy and is known for espousing conspiratorial views on vaccines and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Democrats on the state elections initially declined to approve all three parties last month, saying they had questions about some of the legal issues surrounding the parties' applications. Allowing the Constitution Party onto the ballot on Tuesday — without allowing the others — raised concerns among Republicans, who could suffer at the ballot if the others aren’t added.

"This board is yet again engaging in blatant partisanship, this time clearly aimed at preserving the political prospects of Democrats, specifically President Joe Biden," North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Jason Simmons said in a written statement.

While the Constitution Party is more likely to take votes from Trump than Biden, it's unclear whether Republicans see it as a genuine threat.

It was also allowed on the ballot in North Carolina in 2020; its presidential candidate won just 0.1% of the vote. The election board's Republican members didn't try to stop the Constitution Party from being allowed on the ballot again this year. The GOP has been more interested in getting Kennedy and West on the ballot.

After Tuesday's meeting ended in no final decision for West and Kennedy, Republican leaders at the state legislature announced a new date oversight hearing where state elections director Karen Brinson Bell and other election leaders could be asked to testify under oath about their actions and decisions.

The hearing had originally been scheduled for Tuesday but was canceled due to the board's meeting; it's now rescheduled for July 23. House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican who's running for a seat in Congress this year, indicated GOP lawmakers would have some tough questions for elections officials at that hearing. Some current U.S. House Republicans have also waded into the fight from Washington.

"Democratic partisans on the State Board of Elections have ignored clear state law and refused to certify third parties that pose a threat to Joe Biden in November," Moore said Tuesday. "This is election interference at its worst, and I anticipate the House Oversight and Reform Committee will examine the board’s decisions at their July 23 hearing."

At least one Democratic state lawmaker — and one who serves on that oversight committee — told WRAL Tuesday she'd welcome West and Kennedy on the ballot in North Carolina.

"The more the merrier," said Rep. Allison Dahle, D-Wake, adding that "Democracy is about people choosing their leaders. And if they can’t find a leader in the Democratic or republican party then they’re gonna start to look outside of that."

Fight not over yet for West, RFK Jr.

There has still not been a final decision on what to do about Kennedy and West. But one is needed soon: Mail-in ballots will start going out in September, and state officials want to have the names on the ballots finalized by mid-August.

The board will meet later this month to take another vote on whether to allow West and Kennedy on the ballot. Paul Cox, a lawyer for the elections board, said Tuesday the board has been contacted by multiple people who signed those petitions asking for their names to be removed. Cox says that needs further investigation. There are also lingering legal questions about outside groups that gathered signatures on behalf of the parties, he said.

Kevin Lewis, one of the elections board's Republican members who favors putting Kennedy and West on the ballot, said Tuesday that further delays will only continue to draw negative attention to the board's Democratic majority.

"I'm at a little bit of a loss on how the board is dragging its feet on this issue and I hope my fellow board members will do the right thing," Lewis said.

Multiple board members, on both sides of the aisle, said Tuesday that the two parties could sue the state any day now to try speeding up the process.

"I'm surprised they haven't already," Lewis said.

In 2022 the elections board similarly denied a request by the progressive Green Party to be put on the ballot for that year's U.S. Senate race, again in a party-line vote. The Green Party sued and won ballot access. This year it had enough existing support that it didn't have to go through the same process of elections board approval yet again.

What the parties stand for

All three of the new parties call for little to no U.S. intervention in foreign wars — a sharp contrast with all of modern U.S. foreign policy under Democratic and Republican presidents alike. Beyond that, they have differing goals.

The Constitution Party of North Carolina lists "seven essential core values" on its website. That platform includes a total ban on abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest, staunch support of the Second and Fourth amendments, and a ban on the U.S. being part of international treaties or organizations including NATO or the United Nations.

West also opposes NATO, calling it a tool of U.S. imperialism. He supports spending less money on the military and more on health care, poverty aid and efforts to fight climate change. His campaign platform also touches on a range of issues including labor, criminal justice reforms, gun control and free college tuition.

Kennedy's campaign platform includes the creation of "healing farms" across the country for mental health help, various pro-environmental stances, government ethics reforms that he says will diminish the power of corporate lobbying in Washington, and what he calls a "tough and humanitarian" approach to immigration meant to appeal to liberals and conservatives.