The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name must remain on the presidential ballot in the state, overturning a lower court’s decision to remove it. The initial ruling came after Kennedy suspended his campaign and requested his name be taken off ballots in ten battleground states, endorsing Donald Trump in the process.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson argued that Kennedy’s name could not be removed from the ballot and took the case to court. Following a loss in the lower court on Friday, Benson petitioned the Michigan Supreme Court for an “emergency ruling.” On Monday, the Supreme Court granted her request.
The Supreme Court’s order stated: “On order of the Court, the motion for immediate consideration is GRANTED. The application for leave to appeal the September 6, 2024 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and… in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and VACATE the opinion and order of the Court of Claims except for that part of the Court of Claims order denying the motion for immediate mandamus relief and temporary restraining order/injunction and dismissing the complaint with prejudice, which we REINSTATE. The motion for stay is DENIED as moot.”
The court explained that since Kennedy had received the nomination from Michigan’s Natural Law Party, he could not remove his name from the ballot. The ruling clarified that a candidate cannot withdraw from the presidential race after accepting a nomination from a minor political party.
On Friday, the Michigan Court of Appeals had ruled that Secretary of State Benson “had no basis to deny [Kennedy’s] request to withdraw his name from the ballot,” according to the Detroit Free Press. The appeals court further stated that the law Benson cited to justify keeping Kennedy on the ballot only applied to candidates for state office, not presidential candidates.
Benson responded to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who had criticized her for “election interference” by keeping Kennedy’s name on the ballot, by stating, “Hi @RudyGiuliani I know you’re no longer a licensed attorney because you made several ‘demonstrably false and misleading statements’ about the 2020 election, so allow me to clarify Michigan law for you. MCL 168.686a(4): Candidates who are nominated and accept a minor party’s nomination ‘shall not be permitted to withdraw.'”
Giuliani had previously called Benson “corrupt” and accused her of “engaging in election interference by keeping RFK Jr.’s name on the ballot.”
Michigan remains a critical battleground state in the ongoing contest between Republican contender Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Meanwhile, a North Carolina court has paused the distribution of ballots, instructing that they should not be sent out with Kennedy’s name on them.