Hearing set this week on latest RFK Jr. request to get his name removed from Michigan ballot

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. takes the stage at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Aug. 12. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

A hearing is set Tuesday for former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr.’s request to be removed from Michigan’s November ballot.

U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood on Friday rejected Kennedy’s motion for an immediate decision on the matter, instead scheduling a hearing for 4 p.m. Tuesday, noting that federal rules of civil procedure clearly state that a trial court must give careful consideration to the kind of request that Kennedy has made.

“Before a court may issue a temporary restraining order, it should be assured that the movant has produced compelling evidence of irreparable and imminent injury and that the movant has exhausted reasonable efforts to give the adverse party notice,” wrote Hood.

Because the final deadline for county clerks to have a final copy of the absent voter ballot is 47 days before the election, which would be Thursday, Hood ruled an immediate decision without a hearing was not appropriate.

Kennedy filed for the injunction last week after being rejected by the Michigan Supreme Court in his quest to have his name removed from the ballot. The 70-year-old environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist sought to do that following the suspension of his independent presidential campaign last month and endorsement of the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who is challenging Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Initially, the Michigan Court of Claims upheld the decision by the Michigan Department of State (MDOS), led by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, that Kennedy’s request violated a section of Michigan Election Law concerning candidates nominated by minor political parties, saying they could not withdraw.

That was followed two days later by a unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals (COA) that overruled the Court of Claims decision and said Kennedy’s name could be removed because MDOS incorrectly interpreted state election law.

Kennedy’s request for a federal court injunction was filed by Brandon Debus with the Dickinson Wright law firm, who argued that keeping Kennedy’s name on the ballot was unconstitutional as it was “compelled speech” and would “serve only to mislead voters (and) upend election and ballot integrity …”

Debus also represented independent candidate Cornel West in his efforts to keep his name on the ballot. West has been assisted across the country in his campaign by a number of attorneys with connections to Republican politics .

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