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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said today he will appeal a federal court’s decision allowing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, to keep him on the ballot despite his withdrawal from the presidential race. 

Judge Denise Hood, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, denied Kennedy’s attempt Wednesday to keep Benson from adding him to the ballot. According to The Detroit News, Kennedy notified Hood today that he would be appealing the ruling to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kennedy announced last month he would drop out of the race, withdrawing his name from the ballot in swing states like Michigan in hopes of helping former President Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris. 

But Benson refused to take Kennedy off the ballot, citing concerns that the Natural Law Party — with which Kennedy was running — could not nominate another candidate before November, as The Federalist previously reported. Since then, Kennedy and Benson have been battling in court. Similar obstacles to Kennedy’s withdrawal have cropped up in other states. 

“The harm incurred by Defendant, the Natural Law Party, and Michigan voters outweighs that felt by Plaintiff if he is prohibited from withdrawing,” Hood wrote in the latest ruling. “Plaintiff’s motion is denied.”

Michigan is approaching election deadlines. According to the Detroit Free Press, county clerks must deliver absentee ballots to local clerks by Saturday, and “absentee ballots must be available to the general public by next Thursday.”

The Ruling

Kennedy asked the federal court for a preliminary injunction to keep Benson from “improperly and illegally” placing his name on the ballot, according to the ruling. He claimed violations of the Constitution’s Article 2, Section 1 — which covers the selection of the president — the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Hood ruled against Kennedy, saying he was “not likely to succeed on the merits of this case.” Benson claimed Kennedy delayed raising his concerns, making her “unable to meet statutory deadlines for providing ballots to the county clerks.”

But Kennedy argued that “printing and mailing ballots with Mr. Kennedy’s name appearing as a candidate for an office he no longer seeks cancels his statutory and constitutional rights,” adding that “his supporters will be left confused and potentially angry should they later learn that a vote cast for Mr. Kennedy in Michigan was an invalid, wasted vote,” according to the ruling. 

Hood dismissed these arguments, saying Kennedy “has not established a likelihood of irreparable harm.”

“Plaintiff’s only stated harm is to his reputation,” Hood ruled. “Reprinting ballots at this late hour would undoubtedly halt the voting process in Michigan and cause a burden to election officials. The Natural Law Party will also face harm.”

Legal Battles

When Kennedy’s campaign asked to take his name off the ballot, the Natural Law Party contacted the state director of elections, as The Federalist previously reported.  The party opposed Kennedy’s request, saying this would leave the party without a nominee before November’s election.

So Benson said she would keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot over his objections. Her office claimed “minor party candidates cannot withdraw” and cited the Natural Law Party’s concerns. 

Democrat election officials in other states posed similar obstacles to Kennedy’s removal from the ballot, where his absence might open more voters for Trump and hurt Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances at victory.

Kennedy filed a complaint in the court of claims on Aug. 30. The court denied Kennedy’s request, so he escalated his case to the court of appeals.

The court of appeals found Kennedy had a “clear legal right to have his name removed from the ballot,” according to its order. At that point, The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland spoke with Kennedy’s lawyer, who said Benson had already certified the list of candidates in every county without Kennedy’s name.

But the case went to the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled that “statutory ambiguity makes it impossible to conclude that defendant had a clear legal duty to remove plaintiff from the ballot.” So it allowed Benson to add Kennedy’s name back to the ballot. 

Meanwhile, Benson and state Democrats pushed to keep third-party candidate Cornel West off the ballot. They cited technicalities with his identity notarization and allegations his ballot petitions were “fraudulent,” according to the Detroit Free Press.

West would likely hurt Harris’ chances with his presence on the ballot. A coalition of prominent Muslim-American groups released a statement today urging support of candidates like West over Harris, whom it warned would lose Muslim voters unless she changes her Israel policy.

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.