The Supreme Court rules that RFK Jr. will appear on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin despite the suspension of the campaign

CNN
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdraw his name from the polls in Michigan and Wisconsin, two battleground states where votes for his now-suspended campaign are denting support for former President Donald Trump could.

Kennedy, who dropped out of the presidential race in August and supported Trump, asked the Supreme Court in an emergency appeal to force states to remove his name from the ballot. However, state election officials countered that early and postal voting was already in full swing in the states. In other words, they said it was too late.

The Supreme Court issued its decision without further justification, which is usual in its emergency filing. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a member of the court's conservative wing, dissented in the Michigan case.

In an unusual twist, weeks earlier, Kennedy had asked the Supreme Court to help him get elected in New York. After suspending his campaign, Kennedy initially suggested that voters could continue to support him in less competitive states. The Supreme Court also rejected this request.

At the heart of Kennedy's case in Michigan and Wisconsin was the argument that the states violated his First Amendment rights by coercing his speech, forcing him to suggest to voters that he was still a candidate.

Michigan told the Supreme Court this week that more than 1.5 million voters had already returned mail-in ballots with Kennedy's name listed as an option and that another 263,000 residents had voted early.

“This election is not only imminent, it is already underway and voters are already voting,” Michigan officials had told the Supreme Court.