SCOTUS denies RFK Jr.’s appeal to restore name on NY presidential ballots

10/02/2024 / By Belle Carter

The United States Supreme Court won’t restore the name of former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on New York’s ballot, with liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor denying his campaign’s emergency application for consideration by the full court.

In the issued order in pending case 24A285 Team Kennedy v. Berger, dated Sept. 27, Sotomayor wrote: “The application for writ of injunction presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied.” There were no further comments indicated.

Kennedy announced back in August that he was dropping out of the presidential campaign. He endorsed former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, instead. (Related: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends campaign, endorses Donald Trump.)

He asked the high court in an emergency appeal this week to reinstate his name on the ballots in New York, arguing that his supporters “have a constitutional right to vote for him,” whether he is campaigning for their vote or not. His team gathered more than the required number of signatures from voters in the Empire State. The NY Board of Elections certified more than 100,000 signatures as valid and ordered his name placed on the ballot.

Reports indicate that Kennedy moved to remove his name from swing state ballots on Aug. 23 but left his name on the ballot in some other states. He has successfully removed his name from ballots in Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.

According to the environmental lawyer he is doing this in a longshot bid to secure the presidency in a possible so-called contingent election that would put the presidency in the hands of the House of Representatives in the event of an Electoral College deadlock.

On Aug. 12, Judge Christina Ryba of the New York Supreme Court found Kennedy had falsely claimed he had a New York residence despite living in California. A group of New York residents, backed by Clear Choice, a political action committee aligned with Democrats, sued, saying the address did not satisfy the law’s requirements.

On Sept. 10, the New York Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling, and the next day, the elections board certified the general election ballot without Kennedy’s name on it. Eight days later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the campaign’s motion to reverse the ruling in a one-sentence order.

The SCOTUS’ decision will not stop Kennedy’s supporters. A lawyer who participated in the application, Rick Jaffe, who also represents super PAC American Values 2024, said keeping Kennedy off the New York ballot won’t hinder the movement he leads.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if New York’s success in removing … RFK Jr. may backfire and spur even greater efforts toward a third-party movement for the next presidential election, unless RFK Jr.’s important agenda reforming the health care system, and other aspects of his platform are implemented by the next administration,” he told the Epoch Times.

“The case has been efficiently and respectfully decided by the highest court in the land, but the vision and its implementation continue,” he said.

Wisconsin retains RFK Jr.’s name on the state ballot

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 27 that Kennedy’s name will remain on the state’s presidential ballot. The decision supports the state’s lower court’s ruling that candidates can only be removed from the ballot if they pass away.

Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on Sept. 3 seeking a court order removing him from the ballot. He argued that third-party candidates are discriminated against because state law treats them differently than Republicans and Democrats running for president.

However, Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke ruled earlier in September that Wisconsin law clearly states that once candidates file valid nomination papers, they remain on the ballot unless they die, adding that many election clerks had already sent ballots out for printing with Kennedy’s name on them.

The liberal-controlled higher court’s unanimous decision came after more than 418,000 absentee ballots had already been sent to voters. As of Thursday, nearly 28,000 had been returned, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Kennedy’s attorney in Wisconsin Joseph Bugni said clerks could easily cover Kennedy’s name with stickers. Ehlke rejected that idea, saying it would be a logistical nightmare for clerks and that it is not clear whether the stickers would gum up tabulating machines. He also predicted lawsuits if clerks failed to completely cover Kennedy’s name or failed to affix a sticker on some number of ballots.

Head over Kennedy.news for stories related to RFK Jr.’s support for Donald Trump.

Watch the video below where RFK Jr. calls for the public to support Trump and “overthrow the entrenched elites.”

This video is from the Prevent Global Genocide channel on Brighteon.com.