WaPo:

A state appeals panel upended election preparations in North Carolina on Friday, ordering a halt to the distribution of mail ballots in the battleground state after granting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request that his name be removed from contention for the presidency.

Friday was the deadline for local election officials to mail ballots to the roughly 130,000 North Carolinians who had requested them so far. County offices had been preparing for weeks with ballot design, printing orders and envelope preparation.

That effort immediately stopped under instructions from the State Board of Elections following the court ruling, and officials estimated it will take a minimum of two weeks and more than $1 million — borne by cash-strapped county offices — to design, print and prepare new ballots.

An anonymous three-judge panel of the North Carolina State Court of Appeals offered no explanation for its decision but appeared to side with Kennedy’s argument, on First Amendment grounds, that he should not be forced to appear on the ballot….

Officials said they plan to appeal in Michigan and North Carolina. In Michigan, the decision could affect what is expected to be a close race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Friday was the deadline for making ballot changes, but they were not yet being mailed out, so the effect on ballot production is not expected to be as disruptive as in North Carolina.