Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has lost a federal appeal of Michigan’s decision to keep him on the ballot in this year’s presidential election, potentially dealing a blow to former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy, who suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump last month, sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson after she denied his request to remove his name from the state’s ballots, despite missing a deadline to do so.
Michigan’s Natural Law Party nominated Kennedy as its candidate earlier this year and has opposed his request to remove his name from the ballot, citing concerns about being able to place candidates on ballots in future elections.
Benson has said that candidates cannot withdraw after accepting a minor party’s nomination. She also said that taking Kennedy’s name off the ballot would cost the state $500,000 in Wayne County alone because an overwhelming majority of ballots have already been printed.
Rebecca Noble
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Denise Hood sided with Benson, ruling that “the harm incurred” by Michigan voters, the Natural Law Party and Benson “outweighs” any potential harm to Kennedy.
“Plaintiff’s only stated harm is to his reputation,” Hood wrote in the ruling. “States have a strong interest in their ability to enforce state election law requirements…. Reprinting ballots at this late hour would undoubtedly halt the voting process in Michigan and cause a burden to election officials.”
She continued: “The Natural Law Party will also face harm. To allow Plaintiff to unilaterally withdraw from the ballot would leave supporters of the Natural Law Party without a candidate on the ballot.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
