Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the November ballot in Michigan, despite suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump, according to a ruling by a state judge on September 3.
Kennedy qualified for Michigan’s general election ballot in April after accepting a nomination from the Natural Law Party. However, he announced on August 23 that he was suspending his campaign and throwing his support behind Trump. Kennedy believed that voting for him in battleground states could potentially draw votes away from Trump, so he sought to have his name removed from the ballot in those key states.
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher P. Yates upheld Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s rejection of Kennedy’s request to withdraw from the ballot, stating that she acted within the law. Yates emphasized that elections are not games and that candidates’ whims cannot dictate election procedures.
After making his announcement in August, Kennedy attempted to have his name removed from ballots in several states where the race could be close, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. While some states approved Kennedy’s request, others denied it.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 on August 27 to keep Kennedy’s name on the state’s ballot based on state law which requires candidates who have filed for office to remain on the ballot unless they die.
Kennedy filed a lawsuit against Benson in Michigan’s Court of Claims arguing that if his name remained on the ballot despite withdrawing as a candidate it would drastically change the election and render voters’ choices invalid.
In response to Yates’ ruling, Benson stated that under state law minor party candidates nominated at a convention cannot withdraw their candidacy.
This ruling follows North Carolina State Board of Elections’ rejection of a similar request by Kennedy last month due to impracticality issues with reprinting ballots before absentee voting deadlines.
Kennedy has since filed another lawsuit challenging this decision in Wake County Superior Court.