Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a lawsuit Tuesday night asking a federal court to prohibit Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from including his name on the November ballot.
Kennedy’s complaint came at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Eastern District of Michigan, as the first presidential debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump was concluding in Philadelphia.
The suit, which attempts to move the question to the federal court system, followed the Michigan Supreme Court ruling on Monday that Kennedy, as the nominee of the Natural Law Party in the state, should be on the ballot, despite his decision to suspend his campaign and endorse Trump.
“Defendant’s relentless and unauthorized attempt to have Mr. Kennedy convey a message to Michigan voters he insists on not conveying not only harms Mr. Kennedy but also harms every citizen in Michigan,” Kennedy’s lawyer Brandon Debus wrote of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
Kennedy’s lawsuit contended that including his name would violate the U.S. Constitution and would represent “compelled speech.” That outcome would serve “no purpose other than to undermine the integrity of the election for president of the United States,” the lawsuit said.
However, the Michigan Supreme Court decided Kennedy wasn’t entitled to the “extraordinary relief” of having the court intervene and require his name be removed from the ballot, with less than two months remaining before Election Day.
Unlike the Michigan Supreme Court, which has a majority of Democratic-nominated justices, the highest federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court, features a conservative majority and three justices nominated by Trump.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and the nephew of slain President John F. Kennedy, got on the Michigan ballot because the Natural Law Party nominated him in April. He announced four months later that he was endorsing Trump in what is expected to be a close race between the Republican former president and Harris, the current vice president.
It’s unclear how the federal courts will view Kennedy’s constitutional arguments. And the deadline for a final ruling is extremely tight.
Friday was the day Benson, a Democrat, was required to certify the candidates for the November ballot so the ballot printing process could begin. In Michigan, absentee ballots must be available to send to military and overseas voters 45 days before the election, or Sept. 21.
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