Former 2024 Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly won his appeals to be removed from the ballots of North Carolina and Michigan on Friday.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the ruling of a lower court that had denied his request, CBS 17 reported.
The North Carolina Board of Elections is “enjoined from disseminating ballots” listing Kennedy as a candidate for the presidency, the order obtained by CBS 17 stated. Kennedy’s successful appeal comes a day following Wake County Superior Judge Rebecca Holt reportedly ruling that Kennedy’s name must remain on the state’s ballots.
HUGE: North Carolina Appeals Court rules that RFK Jr’s name MUST be removed from the ballot:
“The State Board of Elections [must] disseminate ballots WITHOUT the name of petitioner Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appearing as a candidate for President of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/RLHiwgiVNh
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 6, 2024
Kennedy was given 24 hours to appeal Holt’s Thursday decision because the first batch of absentee ballots were set to be mailed to North Carolina residents beginning Friday, CBS 17 reported. Counties likely did not mail their ballots out immediately Friday morning due to Kennedy’s appeal, according to the outlet. North Carolina is reportedly anticipated to be the first state to send ballots out to voters.
Kennedy declared his intent to drop his name from the ballots of “about 10 battleground states” when he announced the suspension of his campaign and endorsed 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Aug. 23.
The North Carolina Board of Elections held a partisan vote in which the Democrats denied Kennedy and the We The People Party’s request for removal on Aug. 29, according to CBS 17. Kennedy, who previously appeared on North Carolina ballots as a member of that party, sued the day following, the outlet reported.
Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina by 0.7%, according to polling data from the RealClearPolitics average.
Kennedy, who initially struggled to get ballot access as an Independent candidate, faced hardship in other swing states including Michigan and Wisconsin as he tried to remove his name from their ballots. (RELATED: RFK Jr., Tucker Carlson Rip Into Biden-Harris Admin For ‘Pressuring’ Social Media To ‘Censor’ Him)
Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s senior press secretary, Cheri Hardmon, previously told the Daily Caller that Kennedy could not be removed from the state’s ballot as a result of MCL168.42 and MCL168.686a. The second statute stipulates that minor party candidates appropriately nominated and certified by their parties cannot withdraw from the ballot, and the secretary of state’s office insisted this applied to Kennedy as a Natural Law Party candidate.
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Kennedy’s name can be removed from the state’s ballot, according to the Detroit Free Press. The three-judge panel reportedly declared that Benson’s office “had no basis to deny (Kennedy’s) request to withdraw his name from the ballot.” The court agreed with Kennedy’s claim that presidential candidates did not fall under the statute Benson’s office had sited, the outlet reported.
Harris leads Trump in Michigan by 1.1% and Wisconsin by 1.4%, the RealClearPolitics polling average shows.
