FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Cumberland County Board of Elections is working to design and print new ballots for the 2024 general election without the “We the People Party” presidential and vice presidential candidates listed, following a state court decision.
The Supreme Court of North Carolina, in a 4–3 ruling late Monday, Sept. 9, required election officials to remove the “We the People Party” candidates from the presidential contest on the ballot, including the party’s presidential nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and vice-presidential nominee, Nicole Shanahan.
Cumberland County Board of Elections was prepared to send ballots to voters late last week, which is the state law deadline to begin absentee voting. Due to the court decision, revised ballots will now be printed and delivered to eligible voters who have requested an absentee ballot within the next two weeks. Once edited, and approved by the State Board of Elections, Cumberland County will begin sending absentee ballots, aiming to ensure voters across the state have the same amount of time to cast their absentee vote.
Due to the new design and print time, the State Board is preparing for the possibility that North Carolina cannot meet the 45-day deadline in federal law – September 21 – for distributing military and overseas ballots to voters. The State Board has begun discussions with the U.S. Department of Defense to seek a potential waiver of that deadline.
“We will continue to consult with counties and ballot vendors to determine the feasible start date for distributing absentee ballots statewide, mindful of the goal to meet the 45-day federal deadline,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “This decision imposes a tremendous hardship on our county boards, at an extremely busy time. But our election officials are professionals, and I have no doubt we will rise to the challenge.”
The State Board has asked county boards to strictly separate and move to storage all ballots that had been printed with the “We the People Party” line. This is to avoid any possibility that the wrong ballots are sent to voters.
Through Monday, Sept. 9, 146,603 voters, including more than 12,900 military and overseas voters, had requested ballots for the 2024 general election. See Absentee-By-Mail Request Stats: 2024 General Election to learn more.
2024 General Election Dates and Deadlines
Here are key dates and deadlines for the 2024 general election in North Carolina:
- Oct. 11: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).*
- Oct. 17: In-person early voting begins; same-day registration available.
- Oct. 29: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.).*
- Nov. 2: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).
- Nov. 5: General Election Day.
- Nov. 5: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).*
*Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters.