NEW: RFK Jr. Plans Federal Appeal In Effort To Remove Name From Michigan Ballot

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who suspended his independent bid and endorsed former President Donald Trump last month — will be continuing his fight to have his name removed from Michigan’s presidential election ballot. A number of swing states have allowed Kennedy to remove his name from the ballot, while others, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, are attempting to force him to stay on.

This past Wednesday, Judge Denise Page Hood with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled against Kennedy’s request for a court order, claiming that it “would interrupt the election process because he no longer wants to participate.”

“Reprinting ballots at this late hour would undoubtedly halt the voting process in Michigan and cause a burden to election officials,” Hood, a Clinton appointee, wrote in her decision. She also noted that 90 percent of election ballots in Michigan have already been printed.

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On Friday, Kennedy informed the court that he would be appealing Hood’s decision to the Sixth Circuit of Appeals.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled earlier this month, along partisan lines, that Kennedy should remain on the state’s ballot this fall. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who has threatened to jail anyone who objects to questionable election results, used a novel legal theory to argue that Kennedy should be forced to remain on the ballot. Benson’s office noted that Kennedy was nominated by the Natural Law Party in April and argued that this disqualifies him from dropping off the ballot.

Kennedy has argued that the state’s insistence on keeping him on the ballot would violate the U.S. Constitution and would amount to compelled speech. This, Kennedy’s legal team added, would serve “no purpose other than to undermine the integrity of the election for president of the United States.”

The former presidential candidate has been successful in numerous swing states when it comes to dropping off the ballot, including Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. In Wisconsin, which is also trying to force Kennedy to stay on the ballot, his legal team has filed a similar legal challenge to that of the Michigan effort.

In North Carolina, the state’s Supreme Court argued that his continued presence on the ballot could “disenfranchise countless voters who mistakenly believe that plaintiff remains a candidate for office,” the court said in its 4-3 ruling.

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