The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal Tuesday to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the presidential ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The ruling keeps Kennedy on the ballot in the two critical swing states just days before Election Day, according to The Associated Press. Kennedy, who had originally been on the ballot due to his own presidential campaign, argued that being kept on the ballot in these states infringed upon his First Amendment rights.
However, officials from Michigan and Wisconsin countered that removing his name at this stage, with early voting already underway, would be logistically impossible and could disrupt the electoral process, the AP reported. The court issued no detailed explanation for its decision to deny Kennedy’s appeal, though Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented in the Michigan case.
In Michigan, Kennedy initially won an appeals court ruling but ultimately faced obstacles after state courts found he had missed the filing deadline to withdraw as the candidate for the Natural Law Party, which had advocated for his continued candidacy, AP stated. In Wisconsin, the courts determined that once a qualified candidate submits valid nomination papers, their name must remain unless they die before the election.
Kennedy has withdrawn from the ballot in other key battleground states, including Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada, and will not appear in other states like Florida, Ohio and Texas, CBS News reported. He missed qualification in New York and Georgia, with the Supreme Court denying his request to be reinstated in New York, and he chose not to appeal a Georgia court decision.
Kennedy, who ran as an independent, suspended his campaign in August and has now endorsed former President Donald Trump.
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