The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be in the state’s presidential race in November. reversing the judgment of the lower court which agreed to remove it last week.
The high court majority wrote in its order that Kennedy, who ended his independent White House bid last month and Endorsed former President Donald Trumpdid not point to a specific “source of law” that called for the state to remove it from the ballot.
As a third-party presidential candidate, Kennedy fought to secure ballot access in key swing states, but tried to distance himself after the exit, hoping to avoid playing a spoiler role in the race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. After Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said it was too late to remove Kennedy from the ballot, she went to court to pursue his removal.
Kennedy’s legal efforts The start was delayed Election officials were sending mail ballots to North Carolina, where he won an appeal to remove his name from the ballot. Michigan officials called for a quick resolution because state ballots must be printed soon by law. Military and overseas ballots must be mailed by Sept. 21, with absentee ballots due Sept. 26.
In a heated dissent, Michigan Supreme Court Justices David Viviano and Brian Zahra argued that the decision would only seek to reinforce distrust in the election system by forcing voters to consider a candidate who would not be willing to serve if elected.
“Printed ballots resulting from the court’s decision have the potential to confuse voters, distort their choices and distort the true popular will and affect the outcome of the election,” they wrote. “In short, the court’s ruling will do nothing to rebuild public confidence in the fairness and accuracy of our elections.”
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