Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the presidential race but will still be an option for Michigan voters.
A federal appeals court on Oct. 16 denied a request from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reconsider a ruling that upheld a federal judge’s decision to keep his name on the ballot in Michigan.
Kennedy, an independent presidential candidate, withdrew from the race earlier this year and subsequently requested to have his name removed from the ballot. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that the request came too close to the election and that state law prevents minor party candidates from withdrawing after being nominated at state conventions.
Michigan courts, culminating in the Michigan Supreme Court decision, backed Benson. After Kennedy took the case to federal court, a U.S. district judge ruled in favor of Benson, finding that Kennedy’s interest in having his name removed was “outweighed by the state’s interest in maintaining the integrity of the ballot.”A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit then upheld the ruling in a split decision, with the majority saying Kennedy was unlikely to succeed. The dissenting judge said keeping Kennedy’s name on the ballot was likely illegal.Kennedy had asked