Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces the future of his campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on August 23, 2024.
Thomas Machovich | Reuters
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted Tuesday to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the state’s November presidential election, thwarting the former third-party candidate’s efforts to remove his name from a key battleground state that will determine the 2024 presidential election. Plans removed from the ballot.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 on Tuesday to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot to align with the State Lawwhich states, “No nomination may be refused by any person who has submitted papers for nomination and who is eligible to vote.”
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the state’s decision.
On August 23, Kennedy suspended his plans to enter the White House and instead supported Republican candidate Donald Trump for president.
Kennedy, who appeared with Trump in Arizona, said his name would remain on the ballot in most states.
But “in about ten swing states where my presence would disrupt my presence, I will remove my name,” Kennedy said. “I have begun the process and urge voters not to vote for me.”
The move was widely seen as an effort to help Trump by ensuring that Kennedy voters could not vote for him in a state that would likely be decided by narrow margins.
Polls initially suggested that Kennedy’s withdrawal from the race might help Trump more than his opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Partly because Kennedy was more popular among Republicans than Democrats, Trump better location to pick up More likely to be a Kennedy voter than Harris.
But this strategy works best if voters don’t have the option to vote for Kennedy, because his name won’t appear on the ballot.
But Kennedy’s strategy of withdrawing and seeking to remove his name from the ballot in key states didn’t exactly go as planned.
In the four battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina, Kennedy’s name will likely remain on the ballot until November.
In April, Kennedy secured a spot on the Michigan ballot as the nominee of the Natural Law Party.
Chey Hardmon, senior press secretary for the Michigan Secretary of State, told CNBC in an email that under state law, it was too late for the Natural Law Party to select new electors, so Kennedy’s name will remain on the ballot.
In Michigan, “minor party candidates cannot withdraw,” Hardmon wrote.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a rally in Glendale, Arizona, the United States, on August 23, 2024.
Tsuyoshi Nakamura | Reuters
In North Carolina, Kennedy will be on the ballot as the nominee of our People’s Party.
As of Tuesday, “the party has not notified the state committee of any plans to change nominations,” North Carolina Elections Commission spokesman Patrick Gannon told CNBC in an email.
“If We the People formally withdraw his nomination, the State Department will have to consider whether it is feasible to remove his name from the ballot and reprint the ballot at that time,” he added.
Gannon said North Carolina began mailing out absentee ballots on Sept. 6, and as of Tuesday morning, more than half of the state’s 100 counties had begun printing ballots.
Any efforts by Kennedy to remove himself from the Nevada ballot came too late. according to Nevada Lawwithdrawal of candidacy must be submitted in person within seven working days of the submission deadline.
That Deadline is August 8th For independent candidates in Nevada, that means Kennedy has until August 20 to drop out of the race.
Kennedy has dropped out of the race, according to the secretaries of state in Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Texas. He also may not be on the ballot in Pennsylvania and Georgia, where his candidacy is being litigated in local courts.
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