Appeals court rules RFK Jr.’s name can be removed from Michigan ballot

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign rally at Legends Event Center on December 20, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. | Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Updated at 2:01 p.m. 0n 9/6/24

The Michigan Court of Appeals (COA) has sided with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and ruled his name should be removed from Michigan’s presidential ballot.

The unanimous decision from the three-judge panel came two days after the Michigan Court of Claims said Kennedy’s name could not be removed because Michigan election law stated that a candidate nominated by a so-called minor party who has accepted the party’s nomination “shall not be permitted to withdraw.” 

However, the COA ruled that the Michigan Department of State incorrectly interpreted that portion of the law when it denied the 70-year-old Kennedy’s request to withdraw from the ballot after he suspended his independent campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in his bid for another White House term.

“(T)he Legislature made clear its intention … to restrict the ability of candidates seeking state offices to withdraw, but it did not likewise restrict the ability of candidates for the office of President of the United States…And without that restriction, defendant had no basis to deny plaintiff’s request to withdraw his name from the ballot,” stated the ruling, which remanded the case back to the Court of Claims to grant an immediate order removing Kennedy’s name.

The three judges that comprise the COA panel include Judges Michael Gadola and Mark Boonstra, both appointees of former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. The third panelist, Judge Mark Cavanagh, was first elected on the nonpartisan ballot to the court in 1988. Boonstra unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination to the Michigan Supreme Court at last month’s Michigan Republican Convention in Flint.

An appeal is being made to the Michigan Supreme Court, according to MDOS Spokesperson Angela Benander, although time is of the essence in the case. Friday is the deadline for the department to send county clerks the list of candidates for office in the upcoming general election, with printing of the ballots to take place soon after so that deadlines can be met to provide ballots to absentee voters, including those in the military and living overseas.

This story has been updated to reflect that the MDOS is appealing the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court.