How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to get on the ballot in North Carolina

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to run under the We The People party banner in North Carolina. The party must obtain required signatures before the end of May.

Posted 4:30 p.m. Feb 16 — Updated 10:35 p.m. Feb 19

Brian Murphy

, WRAL News

If independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted to get on North Carolina's November ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, he'd have to collect more than 83,000 signatures from registered voters in the state by March 5. But there is an easier path for Kennedy to appear on the November ballot in North Carolina, and his campaign plans to use it.

Rather than seeking ballot access as an individual, he now hopes to land on state ballots by becoming affiliated with a political party. A political party can gain ballot access by collecting just 13,865 signatures from registered and qualified voters. That number, as laid out in state law, is equal to 0.25% of the total number of voters who voted in the most recent general election for voters. The petition must be signed by at least 200 registered voters from at least three separate congressional districts in North Carolina.

The We The People Party, formed by Kennedy supporters this year, submitted a petition request form to the State Board of Elections. It is one of dozens of petitions currently in progress, including one for Kennedy himself.

The party has until May 17 to submit its signatures to county election officials for verification. Signatures must be submitted in the county they were obtained.

Then they must be submitted to the State Board of Elections before noon on June 1.

"Once the party has ballot access, they will nominate Mr. Kennedy as their candidate and he will officially be on the ballot in North Carolina," Stefanie Spear, Kennedy's campaign press secretary, told WRAL in an email. "The party will submit all its signatures at the end of the petitioning process."

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Kennedy garnered 8% support in a poll of 1,099 registered voters released this week by Fox News. Republican front-runner Donald Trump led President Joe Biden 46% to 37% in the poll, which also included potential Green Party candidate Jill Stein (2%) and independent candidate Cornell West (1%). Trump led Biden 50% to 45% in a head-to-head match-up in the same poll.

In North Carolina, Trump led Biden by five points — 44% to 39% — in a recent poll conducted by political scientists at Meredith College.

Trump, the former president, won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020. In 2020, he defeated Biden by fewer than 75,000 votes. Candidates from the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties appeared on North Carolina's presidential ballot in 2022.

The Kennedy campaign says Kennedy has already gained access to ballots in Utah and New Hampshire.

As of now, the winners of presidential primaries in the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties will appear on the North Carolina ballot in November. And nominees from the Green Party and No Labels Party, which will select candidate through a convention process, will also appear on the November ballot.

But other parties can still gain ballot access through the petition process. The Green Party did so in 2022. The Constitution Party has submitted more than 16,600 signatures and more than 12,700 have been validated so far, putting the party about 1,100 away from ballot access.

In addition to the Constitution Party and We The People, the North Carolina Forward Party, the American Political Party, the Veterans Party of North Carolina and the American Platform Party have submitted petition request forms for 2024.

The Veterans Party of North Carolina has submitted 223 valid signatures. No other party has submitted valid signatures.

Early voting for the March 5 primary in North Carolina began Thursday.

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