Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race last week to help former President Donald Trump win, but things aren’t going quite as planned.
While announcing the suspension of his long shot presidential campaign, Kennedy said he was specifically removing his name from the ballot in about 10 swing states.
“Our polling consistently showed that 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,” Kennedy said at a news conference before endorsing Trump.
But at least three states have already disrupted Kennedy’s plan.
Michigan, a key battleground state, said it was too late for Kennedy to withdraw as the nominee of the Natural Law Party in the state. Kennedy got on the ballot by convincing the small party to nominate him, earning only two votes.
“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” Cheri Hardmon, spokesperson for Michigan’s secretary of state, said in a statement to The Detroit News.
“The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for Robert Kennedy Jr. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it’s past the primary,” she added.
Wisconsin, another crucial swing state, also denied Kennedy’s request to be removed from the ballot.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 against removal on Tuesday, citing state law that states, “any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination.”
Colorado, notably less competitive for Trump than Michigan or Wisconsin, also denied Kennedy removal from the ballot.
Kennedy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
However, Kennedy succeeded in getting himself booted from the ballot in some important swing states, including Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. He’s also been removed from Florida, Ohio, and Texas ballots.
Whether he can be removed from North Carolina’s ballot is unclear. On Tuesday, election officials in the state told The National Desk that Kennedy’s name was already printed on some ballots.
Outside those states where he is trying to be removed, the Democrat-turned-independent-turned-Trump ally was still encouraging his supporters to show up and vote for him in November.
Source link : https://www.businessinsider.com/states-denying-rfk-jr-ballot-removal-2024-8
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Publish date : 2024-08-27 16:03:00
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