STATEMENT: MoveOn Responds to North Carolina Board of Elections Decision About Ballot Access

By MoveOn. Tuesday, July 16 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, MoveOn Political Action released the following statement on the North Carolina State Board of Elections decision to grant Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ballot access and deny Cornel West’s attempt. Both candidates have sought to subvert North Carolina election laws by qualifying as candidates for bogus political parties – in an attempt to avoid the signature threshold needed for independent candidates. Additionally, RFK Jr. and West have come under public scrutiny for working with right-wing operatives to deceive voters by having them sign petitions under confusing and false pretenses.

In a random sample of people who signed petitions for Cornel West’s Justice for All Party, the State Board of Elections reached 49 of 250 signers. Three couldn’t recall the petition, 18 respondents said they didn’t sign the petition, and others said they didn’t know the purpose. In addition, representatives for the Justice for All Party could not account for 4,000 signatures they submitted to the state board. 

“RFK Jr. and Cornel West tried to subvert our democracy, plain and simple. By deceiving voters and accepting help from Trump loyalists, they’ve made it crystal clear that they are more interested in denying Joe Biden the presidency than protecting our democracy. These sham parties are designed to game the system to cut into President Biden’s vote share to usher in Trump and his Project 2025 takeover,” said Joel Payne, Chief Communications Officer for MoveOn. “While the North Carolina State Board of Elections rightfully kept the deceptive Justice for All Party off the ballot, they made a grave mistake in signing off on the We the People Party. If either of these candidates actually lived by their own words, they would stop accepting help from Donald Trump and drop out of this race.”

Background: 

RFK Jr. and West consistently use shady tactics to deceive voters in an effort to get on the ballot.

• In North Carolina, RFK Jr. and Cornel West are accused of ​​“misleading” voterswho signed their petitions and violating a state law that requires newly formed political parties to tell signers what the general purpose and intent of their party is. 
• Cornel West’s Justice for All Party authorized three people to pick up and drop off signatures for them in North Carolina. All three individuals are current or past employees of a Colorado-based Republican political firm called Blitz Canvassing, which has generated more than $14.6 million in payments for Never Back Down, the main Super PAC that supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. 
• RFK Jr. is also awaiting hearings in New York about the validity of his signatures, as well as the home address he listed on his petition paperwork. He claimed his home is in New York, not in California where he resides. 
• In Delaware, RFK Jr. is working with the Independent Party of Delaware (IPD), which has known ties to extremist, right-wing individuals. Its vice chairman, Phil Dyer, attended the riot at the Capitol on January 6 and recently called for another. 
• RFK Jr. is also working with the Natural Law Party of Michigan, which nominated RFK Jr. at a two-person convention led by a part-time magician, while leaders from the same party’s Florida branch called RFK Jr.’s campaign “scammers.” 
• Trump allies have publicly stated they are plotting to spoil the election against President Biden by backing third-party candidates, including Jill Stein and Dr. Cornel West, as well as RFK Jr. 

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