The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected Robert F. Kennedy’s plea to have his name removed from the state’s general election ballot, effectively closing all legal avenues for Kennedy in this case. The court’s decision overturns a previous ruling by the Michigan Court of Claims and reinstates their original judgment, which denied Kennedy’s motion for mandamus relief.
In a 5-2 split ruling on September 9, the Michigan Supreme Court stated that Kennedy failed to provide a clear legal basis for removing his name from the November ballot and did not identify any law that would leave no room for discretion on the part of election officials. The majority opinion emphasized that Kennedy had not demonstrated a clear legal right or identified any source of law that would require his name to be withdrawn.
Justices Brian K. Zahra and David F. Viviano dissented from the majority opinion, arguing that there was no statute prohibiting Kennedy from withdrawing before ballots were printed. They expressed concerns about confusing voters and distorting their choices if Kennedy remained on the ballot.
Days prior to this Supreme Court decision, the Michigan Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of Kennedy, stating that he had a “clear legal right” to withdraw as there was no specific statute preventing it even for minor party candidates like him.
Kennedy, who was nominated by the Natural Law Party but later endorsed former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the presidential race on August 23 with an aim to avoid drawing votes away from Trump in key swing states.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson initially denied Kennedy’s withdrawal request citing state law restrictions on minor party candidates withdrawing after being nominated at a state convention. Benson also argued that it was too close to the deadline for printing ballots when she received his request.
Kennedy sued over Benson’s refusal and initially lost in the Michigan Court of Claims before winning in an appeal at the Michigan Court of Appeals. This prompted Benson’s office to appeal again at the state Supreme Court level.
Neither Kennedy nor Benson’s office provided comments following this ruling.
The outcome could potentially impact the presidential election as reports suggest that in swing states like Michigan, removing Kennedy from ballots would have more impact on Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris.
This decision mirrors similar legal battles faced by Kennedy in other states such as North Carolina and Wisconsin where he has encountered opposition regarding his requests to withdraw from those respective ballots.
