The mailing of ballots for the upcoming US presidential election has been delayed in North Carolina after a court granted a request by former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to have his name removed from the ballots.

The ballots for the November 5 vote were to be sent out on Friday in North Carolina ahead of other states.

But the state board of elections says a court on Friday approved Kennedy's request to delete his name and halt the mailing.

Kennedy suspended his campaign on August 23 and endorsed former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump. He said his name will be removed from ballots in battleground states, including North Carolina.

But North Carolina's board of elections decided to leave his name on the ballots, saying it would not be practical to reprint them and meet the deadline.

An election board official of the state's Mecklenburg County said that under the current situation, the board will have to remove Kennedy's name and carry out a reprint.

The Associated Press quoted state attorneys as saying that the reprint would take more than two weeks.