Michigan's presidential ballot still not finalized as Friday deadline passes

LANSING — Which names will appear on the Nov. 5 presidential ballot in Michigan remained uncertain late Friday as decisions were pending from the Michigan Supreme Court.

Though Michigan's Department of State said Friday was a statutory deadline for notifying clerks of final ballot changes, it appeared unresolved issues would carry into early next week, before actual printing of ballots begins.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not appear on the list of candidates but that Cornel West, another independent candidate for president, will appear . Based on a late Friday court filing from lawyers for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, that's the information that was communicated Friday to local clerks.

But clerks were also advised that appeals were pending before the Michigan Supreme Court, and it was not clear at press time Friday when the state's highest court would rule on either case. Benson's attorneys, in seeking an emergency stay and reversal of the Kennedy ruling, asked the Michigan Supreme Court to act by 3 p.m. Monday.

Definitely on the ballot for president are Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. Also on the Michigan ballot is Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee for president.

Minor party and independent candidates could have an impact in Michigan, a key battleground state, with polls showing a close race between Harris and Trump.

Kennedy, a member of one of America's most prominent Democratic families, suspended his independent campaign for president on Aug. 23 and endorsed Trump. Kennedy, who was drawing 3% of the vote in a recent Free Press Michigan poll, has since sought to have his name removed from the ballot in Michigan and several other states, in an apparent bid to help Trump.

The Bureau of Elections under Benson, a Democrat, said that because Kennedy qualified for the Michigan ballot as the nominee of the Natural Law Party, which held a convention, he is ineligible to remove his name from the ballot. A Michigan Court of Claims judge agreed. But on Friday, in a 3-0 opinion, a panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals said that the section of Michigan law state officials were relying on applied only to state candidates, not presidential candidates such as Kennedy. His name should be removed, as requested, the panel said.

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But in a strongly worded emergency appeal, lawyers for Benson criticized the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling as "erroneous" and badly reasoned.

Regardless of what statutory wording applies, Kennedy's repeated delays were by themselves sufficient reason to refuse his request to have his name removed from the ballot, Assistant Attorney General Heather Meingast said in a court filing.

Leaving the Natural Law Party without a candidate would unfairly threaten that party's ballot eligibility in the future, since that eligibility is based on drawing a certain percentage of the vote, the appeal said.

As for West, a civil rights activist and philosopher who has been polling at 1% or lower, the Bureau of Elections ruled that problems with West's affidavit of identity made him ineligible for the ballot. But both the Michigan Court of Claims and the Michigan Court of Appeals disagreed, saying West was not required to submit such an affidavit and that therefore any problems with the affidavit were irrelevant. Benson and her officials did not appeal that ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court, but voter Rosa Holliday, who is represented by former Michigan Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer, did appeal.

Both the Bureau of Elections and the Board of State Canvassers agreed that West filed the required number of valid signatures. But Holliday's appeal also alleges that a significant number of West's signatures were forged.

Michigan Supreme Court justices appear on the nonpartisan ballot but are nominated by the state's two major political parties. Currently, Democratic nominees hold a 4-3 edge on the court.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's presidential ballot still not finalized as Friday deadline passes