State appealing court order to remove RFK Jr. from ballot

The state is taking what is likely the final round of the he’s-on/he’s-off fight over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential ballot status to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Kennedy, who was running a fringe, conspiracy theory-laced effort for the presidency that was a long shot from the start, has been trying to remove his name from Michigan ballots since he suspended his campaign and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump last month. The latest salvo in the fight came late Friday, when the Michigan Secretary of State filed an urgent request for the state Supreme Court to order that Kennedy’s name will appear on the ballot whether he likes it or not. The state says Kennedy blew past the deadline to drop out of the race, and allowing him to withdraw now would leave the Natural Law Party of Michigan without a nominee at the top of the ballot after he pursued and accepted that party’s nomination.

“Kennedy’s complaint threatens an orderly election,” said the argument filed by attorneys for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “Further, it is not just the Secretary who is prejudiced, but also the Natural Law Party, who stands to lose its principal candidate with no recourse of fielding a new candidate.”

The decision will be consequential since even low-polling candidates could make a difference in a close race with Michigan’s 15 presidential electoral votes in play. It is also consequential to the Natural Law Party of Michigan, which was counting on enough votes for Kennedy at the top of the ticket to automatically qualify for the ballot in future Michigan elections instead of going through a petition campaign.

Kennedy is trying to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

Kennedy lost his bid before a Michigan Court of Claims judge who excoriated the scion of a prominent Democratic family for gamesmanship. But on Friday, two days later, the Court of Appeals held Kennedy is not bound to remain on the ballot under a technicality that the candidate dropout deadline does not apply to presidential nominees.

The state asked the Supreme Court to issue a ruling by 3 p.m. Monday to give local clerks the legally required time to mail absentee ballots to overseas and absentee voters.