LANSING, Mich. – Exciting news emerged from the Michigan Supreme Court as they ruled to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state’s November presidential ballot, despite his attempts to withdraw and show support for former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy, who had previously suspended his third-party presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in August to remove his name from the ballot to avoid diverting votes from Trump, the winner of Michigan in 2016 by about 10,000 votes.
This decision overturns a Court of Appeals ruling from Friday and solidifies Kennedy’s name on the ballot in Michigan, a key battleground state, despite his withdrawal from the race.
The court’s brief order stated that Kennedy “has not shown an entitlement to this extraordinary relief, and we reverse.”
Kennedy’s attorney, Aaron Siri, mentioned, “This plainly has nothing to do with ballot or election integrity. The aim is precisely the opposite — to have unwitting Michigan voters throw away their votes on a withdrawn candidate.”
Angela Benander, spokesperson for Benson’s office, expressed gratitude for the high court’s “swift response” and stated that clerks can now proceed with the ballot printing process to ensure timely delivery of absentee ballots to voters.
Despite facing challenges in other states, Kennedy is determined to withdraw his name where the presidential race will be tightly contested in November. After a legal victory in North Carolina and a setback in Wisconsin, the Michigan Supreme Court ruling comes as a significant development.
The dissenting opinion from two Republican-nominated justices highlighted the potential national implications of the Secretary’s actions approved by the Court, in their 4-3 majority of justices nominated by Democrats.
Kennedy, nominated for president by the Natural Law Party in Michigan, encountered opposition from Benson who cited a state law prohibiting candidates who accept a minor party’s nomination from withdrawing.
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