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WASHINGTON – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to take him off Michigan’s presidential ballot despite lower courts’ rulings that it’s too late to make changes before the Nov. 5 election.
Kennedy’s emergency request was filed two days after he made a similar appeal to get off the ballot in Wisconsin, one of the six other swing states expected to decide the presidential race.
The Supreme Court has asked election officials in both Michigan and Wisconsin to respond by Monday afternoon.
Kennedy ended his presidential campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
Since then, he’s sought to get his name off the ballot in competitive states to avoid taking votes away from Trump even as he unsuccessfully asked the Supreme Court to put him on the ballot in New York.
In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Kennedy missed the withdrawal deadline for candidates running through a minor political party.
A district judge sided with Benson, but Kennedy was successful at the Michigan Court of Appeals, only to have the Michigan Supreme Court side with Benson again.
The Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals last month upheld the district judge’s original ruling, saying the ballots have been printed.
Appeals Court Judge Eric Clay wrote Kennedy “does not explain how to unring the bell at this juncture without great harm to voting rights and the public’s interest in fair and efficient election administration.”
Kennedy told the Supreme Court that by not removing him from the ballot, Michigan is “misrepresenting to voters that Mr. Kennedy is qualified and willing to serve the public if elected.”
He also argued Benson didn’t have the authority to recertify him as a candidate because the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling that he was not allowed to withdraw did not instruct her to do so.
“Michigan law does not provide for any recertification of the list of candidates after the statutory deadline,” his lawyers told the court.
Before suspending his campaign, Kennedy had obtained ballot access in Michigan after being nominated by the Natural Law Party of Michigan. In court filings, the party said it wanted Kennedy to remain on the ballot.
