Both the North Carolina and Michigan courts of appeals on Friday reversed prior denials of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request that his name be removed from the general election ballots in the two highly contested swing states.
The moves in both states are legal wins for the former independent candidate, who recently dropped out to endorse President Donald Trump. The endorsement marked a significant shift for Kennedy, who has a lifelong legacy as a Democrat and a member of one of America’s most powerful political dynasties.
Since endorsing Trump, Kennedy has been trying to thread the needle, seeking to remove his name from ballots in some states in order to benefit Trump while remaining on ballots in others. But so far, Democrats have had success keeping him on the ballots where he has requested to be removed, while removing him from the ballots on which he wishes to remain. All of this follows other hard-fought legal fights Kennedy had with Democrats in his effort to obtain ballot access in the first place.
In July Democrats in North Carolina sued to keep Kennedy off the ballot out of fears he might sap more votes from Vice President Kamala Harris. But it now appears that his remaining on the ballot could take more votes from Trump — which has prompted both Democrat-led efforts to keep Kennedy on the ballot and Kennedy’s legal actions to get his name removed.
Kennedy requested last week that his name be removed from the ballots, but the request was denied by the Democrat-run North Carolina State Board of Elections, prompting Kennedy to turn to the courts. On Thursday a lower court judge denied Kennedy’s request to be removed from the ballots, but a unanimous order from the state court of appeals on Friday granted Kennedy’s petition and ordered that the ballots with his name not be distributed for use. The appeals court order was issued without legal explanation.
North Carolina election officials had planned to begin mailing ballots Friday, but the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) subsequently issued guidance to all 100 county election directors telling them not to disseminate ballots. According to the NCSBE, 135,559 North Carolinians had already requested absentee ballots as of Friday afternoon.
The guidance from NCSBE General Counsel Paul Cox, obtained by The Federalist, is as follows:
The Court of Appeals just issued an order reversing the denial of the restraining order that was requested by Kennedy. It is attached. The court has ordered a further pause to ballot distribution. Do not send any ballots out today.
The court has also ordered that the We The People party’s ballot line be removed (including Kennedy and Shanahan). Obviously, this will be a major undertaking for everyone. Our attorneys are reviewing the order and determining how to move forward. No decision has been made on whether this ruling will be appealed.
Bottom line: continue to hold your outgoing absentee ballots — both military and overseas citizen ballots, and ballots for civilian voters. We will update you immediately with any further developments.
The North Carolina order means that ballots will have to be reprinted and mailed, a process that could take days, or even weeks. Friday evening, the NCSBE announced that it had filed an appeal with the state supreme court asking that the court of appeals’ ruling be overturned. North Carolina elects its supreme court judges, and Republican justices currently outnumber Democrat justices 5-2.
The Michigan Court of Appeals also unanimously ordered that Kennedy’s name be removed from state ballots on Friday, reversing a lower court opinion to retain his name on the ballots. According to The Detroit News, however, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office filed an emergency appeal Friday evening, asking the state supreme court to pause the decision that removes Kennedy from Michigan ballots. Democrat-appointed justices maintain a 4-3 advantage on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Friday also marked a significant deadline for ballots in Michigan, where state law requires Benson’s office to submit the names of candidates that will appear on the ballots to county clerks. Election law also requires that absentee ballots be ready to send to voters who are in the military or overseas by Sept. 21, or 45 days before Election Day.
The week after Kennedy suspended his campaign, a poll of likely voters in Michigan showed the independent retaining 5 percent support from likely voters, and showed Trump with a 1 percent edge on Harris.
The Kennedy campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The Federalist.
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
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