RFK Jr. appears on some swing state ballots as appeal fails

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied two separate requests for injunctions that would have removed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name from the presidential ballots in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin. Kennedy asked that his name be removed from the ballot in both states, after he withdrew from the race in August and said he would work with former President Donald Trump on some issues.

What was the issue in Michigan? The state Court of Claims found that Michigan law did not permit Kennedy to withdraw his name from the ballot. On Sept. 6, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed that decision and ordered Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to remove Kennedy’s name from the ballot. Benson complied with the order while appealing it to the Michigan Supreme Court. On Sept. 9, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Kennedy was not permitted to withdraw from the race, but did not instruct Benson to reinsert Kennedy’s name on the ballot. Benson did so anyway. In their appeal to the Supreme Court, Kennedy’s legal team called Benson’s decision to recertify unprecedented, unnecessary, and lawless. The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court did not explain the reasoning behind their Tuesday ruling in the Michigan case, but Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented.

What was the issue in Wisconsin? Kennedy requested that his name be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin and questioned whether his inclusion on the ballot compelled his speech in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Wisconsin Elections Commission denied his request, calling it absurd. Fulfilling his request would require Wisconin clerks to handcraft and apply millions of stickers to cover up his name on the ballots, the state commission said. The commission also pointed out that some ballots had already been distributed to voters. The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court did not explain their reasoning in their Tuesday ruling in the Wisconsin case either. None of the justices dissented in the case.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging Catholics to vote for Trump.