Courts in Michigan and North Carolina have ordered Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name to be removed from the presidential ballot.

North Carolina delayed the mailing of absentee ballots after RFK Jr. won an appeal to have his name removed from the ballot.

Meanwhile, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Friday RFK Jr. can remove his name from the state’s ballot.

“While the request was made close to the deadline for defendant to give notice of candidates to local election officials, it was not made so late that laches should apply,” the ruling read.

Per CBS News:

The decision comes days after Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates ruled that Kennedy’s name must remain on the ballot. Kennedy filed a lawsuit on Aug. 30 with Michigan’s Court of Claims against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. State election officials previously rejected Kennedy’s notice of withdrawal.

“Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State (SOS) is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” Yates said in his opinion and order.

Kennedy gained ballot access in Michigan by running as a candidate for the Natural Law Party. Doing so allowed Kennedy to bypass the collection of signatures, which the state requires of independent candidates who are not affiliated with a political party.

In a social media post Tuesday, Benson said under state law, candidates who are nominated and accept a minor party’s nomination “shall not be permitted to withdraw.”

In his lawsuit, Kennedy argued his notice to withdraw from Michigan’s ballot was timely and said that votes would be “diminished and rendered invalid” if he were to remain on the ballot.

NBC News reports:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won an appeal over having his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot on Friday, delaying the expected mailing of the state’s absentee ballots on Friday.

It’s unclear if this ruling, which reverses a lower court’s denial, will be appealed. But it will at least temporarily delay the distribution of mail ballots.

As a third-party presidential candidate, Kennedy had fought to secure ballot access in North Carolina. But after he dropped out of the race and endorsed former President Donald Trump, he sought to remove himself as an option for voters, as polling indicates his presence on the ballot could hurt the Republican nominee.

The State Board of Elections ordered election officials not to mail ballots on Friday morning in an email late Friday morning.

 

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