CAMDEN COUNTY, N.C. — There's a voting delay in North Carolina after a state appeals court judge granted on Friday Robert F. Kennedy's request to be removed from the ballot for this year's general election.
According to reports, Kennedy has been fighting to get his name off of ballots in North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin after he dropped out of the race and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
By Friday evening, the North Carolina State Board of Elections appealed the judge's decision.
"We're used to changing and changing quickly," said Elaine Best, the Director of Elections for Camden County.
She said that on Friday afternoon, she received an email from the State Board of Elections asking her and other North Carolina election directors not to mail out absentee ballots.
Best said that although she worked through Wednesday to prepare the absentee ballots for voters, she was not disappointed.
"I'm glad that I stopped working on them yesterday afternoon," Best said.
Currently, the North Carolina Supreme Court is considering the State Board of Elections' appeal.
Meanwhile, elections officials across the state must work through the weekend to begin the process of coding and proofing new ballots without Kennedy’s name.
"I love a red pen. So it takes me a while," Best said. "You know, you have to look at every single thing, and I print them, and my assistant looks at them, as well. So it's just, we have 27 races on our ballot, so we have to look at every single one of them to make sure everything is spelled correctly and everything."
While Best and others work to prepare the new absentee ballots, the State Board of Elections has directed county elections officials not to print or mail them out until the state gives the go-ahead.
"We're used to things changing quickly through the election season, so we're all just waiting for guidance, following through, and trying to do what the state wants us to do," Best said.
According to the NC State Board of Elections, as of Friday evening, more than 136,300 voters, including about 12,700 members of the military and voters overseas, had requested absentee ballots statewide.
The State Board of Elections is also asking the State Supreme Court to make a quick decision so counties will not have to spend additional money printing new ballots.