RFK Jr. to remain on ballot in Michigan, state Supreme Court rules

By: CNN

Posted: Sep 10, 2024 5:58 AM CDT

Emily Elconin/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

By Aaron Pellish and Kit Maher

(CNN) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be on the ballot in Michigan, the state’s highest court ruled Monday, despite Kennedy pushing to have his name removed after he ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

The state Supreme Court court said in its majority opinion that Kennedy “has not shown an entitlement to this extraordinary relief” after seeking to have his name removed from the ballot, reversing a Michigan appeals court decision to take him off the ballot Friday after an appeal from the Michigan secretary of state.

Kennedy had qualified for the battleground state’s ballot after being nominated by the Natural Law Party, a minor party with ballot access in Michigan. In a concurring opinion, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch cited Natural Law Party chair Doug Dern’s opposition to Kennedy’s withdrawal four months after his party nominated Kennedy as part of her basis for concluding Kennedy did not have a “clear right” to be removed from the state’s ballot.

The decision undercuts Kennedy’s hope to push his supporters toward Trump after he endorsed the former president last month. Kennedy has been attempting to remove his name from battleground states as part of a strategy to maximize the Republican nominee’s support in places that could determine the outcome of the election. Last week, he told his supporters to back Trump “no matter what state you live in.”

While Kennedy’s support was in single digits when he dropped out of the presidential race last month, those voters could prove consequential to the outcome of closely contested states like Michigan. In a CNN poll released last week of likely voters in Michigan, Kennedy received 4% support despite having suspended his campaign. In that same poll, Vice President Kamala Harris led in Michigan with 48% over Trump’s 43%.

Kennedy has seen some success in his effort to be removed from the ballot in battleground states, with the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling in his favor Monday.

The Michigan ruling settles a hard-fought legal effort by Kennedy to remove his name from the state ballot, after initially losing a Michigan Court of Claims decision. He then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which ruled in his favor to remove him from the ballot Friday before that decision was overturned on Monday.

A spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson praised the state Supreme Court’s quick ruling in a statement, saying, “Clerks can now move forward with the ballot printing process to ensure absentee ballots will be delivered to voters by the federal deadlines.”

Absentee voting in Michigan is scheduled to start September 26, although ballots for overseas and military voters are required to go out by September 21.

This story has been updated with additional details.

Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.