The U.S. Supreme Court has denied separate appeals by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove his name from the ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan – a move supported by former President Trump.
Kennedy, who was running as the independent presidential candidate, has been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump.
“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” Cheri Hardmon, senior press secretary for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said in a previous statement to NBC News.
Fox News’ Bill Mears learned that both Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett referred the cases to the full Court for a vote. While they could have decided them solo, it’s expected with all election-related litigation that the individual Justices will defer to the full Court.
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It is also not known how the votes went down, but the only public dissent is from Justice Neil Gorsuch – and only in the Michigan case.
When he suspended his campaign, Kennedy said he planned to keep his name on the ballot in safe Democratic and Republican states, but didn’t want to be a spoiler in battleground states.
“In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me,” Kennedy previously said. “Our polling consistently showed by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues.”
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Republican members of the commission in Wisconsin pushed to grant Kennedy his wish to no longer be on the ballot after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. The commission was deadlocked under opposition from Democrats, who pointed to Wisconsin state law that says once a candidate has filed for office, they must remain on the ballot unless they die.
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“We know Trump and Kennedy are playing games,” Democratic elections commission member Mark Thomsen said, according to the Associated Press. “Whatever games they’re playing, they have to play them with Kennedy on the ballot.”
The presence of independent and third party candidates on the ballot could be a key factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.
Fox News’ Bill Mears, Shannon Bream, Bradford Betz, Danielle Wallace, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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