RFK Jr. goes to federal court in last-ditch effort to get his name off Michigan ballot

LANSING — Onetime independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a last ditch effort to keep his name off Michigan's presidential ballot late Tuesday, filing a lawsuit in federal court after losing his state court fight.

Kennedy requested a preliminary injunction and a restraining order in U.S. District Court in Detroit, saying Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson "seeks to improperly and illegally place Mr. Kennedy's name on the 2024 general presidential election ballot despite the fact that Mr. Kennedy has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race and specifically requested that his name be removed from the ballot."

Friday was the statutory deadline for finalizing Michigan ballots. Angela Benander, a spokeswoman for Benson, said Wednesday that "clerks are currently in the process of printing ballots to ensure absentee ballots will be delivered to voters by the federal deadlines."

There had been no ruling in the federal case, and no hearing scheduled, as of early Wednesday evening.

The deadline for clerks to send absentee ballots to overseas military voters is Sept. 21. Absentee ballots must be available to other voters Sept. 26.

Kennedy, a member of one of the nation's most prominent Democratic families, endorsed former President Donald Trump, a Republican, when he suspended his campaign Aug. 23 and has been seeking to remove his name from presidential ballots in battleground states such as Michigan. Having endorsed Trump, Kennedy does not want voters to still have the option of instead casting ballots for him.

Benson, a Democrat, said that because Kennedy qualified for the Michigan ballot as the nominee of the state's Natural Law Party, after the party held a convention, there is no provision for him to remove his name. The NLP opposes Kennedy's effort to withdraw his name and it would be unfair to that party to leave it without a candidate, Benson officials and attorneys have said in state court filings.

Kennedy won at the Michigan Court of Appeals but lost in a split Monday ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court, where Democratic nominees hold a 4-3 majority.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: RFK Jr. goes to federal court in last-ditch effort to get his name off Michigan ballot