Supreme Court rejects RFK Jr.'s bid to remove name from swing state ballots

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s requests to be taken off the presidential ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin after he dropped out of the race and backed former President Trump.

Since suspending his independent presidential bid, Kennedy has looked to remove his names in key swing states to avoid inadvertently drawing crucial votes from Trump. 

In two brief orders, the Supreme Court rejected Kennedy’s separate emergency requests, which asserted forcibly keeping his name on the ballot compelled his speech in violation of the First Amendment. 

Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, publicly dissented in the Michigan decision and sided with Kennedy. He did not do so for the Wisconsin case. 

“Moreover, such compelled speech harms every citizen in Michigan. The Secretary, by listing Mr. Kennedy on the ballot, is misrepresenting to voters that Mr. Kennedy is qualified and willing to serve the public if elected,” Kennedy’s attorneys wrote in his Michigan application.  

“Such a representation is not only incorrect, but it is also prejudicial to voters who reasonably expect that the ballot contain accurate information,” the application continued. 

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes after the justices similarly denied efforts to restore Kennedy’s name to New York’s ballot and Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s name to Nevada’s ballot. 

State attorneys in both Michigan and Wisconsin urged the Supreme Court to deny Kennedy’s newest requests, noting that voting is already underway. 

Attorneys representing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) said Kennedy’s request “is simply no longer possible.” 

“The absurdity of this proposal is evident on its face, and Applicant comes nowhere close to showing why it would be appropriate,” the Wisconsin Department of Justice wrote in court filings on behalf of the state’s election commission.