Ballot Access News: Kennedy Withdraws from the Ballot in Several Swing States, Even as He Continues to Gain Ballot Access in Others

By Leah Watson, Breaking News Reporter, The Kennedy Beacon

The dust is still settling following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s announcement that he has suspended his independent presidential campaign and backed Donald Trump’s run for president. 

But, as he said he’d do when he made the announcement, Kennedy is staying on the ballot in most states and removing his name from swing states. Specifically, he plans to appear in 40 states – states considered safe for Democrats to win or safe for Republicans to win. The idea is to avoid swaying the final outcome towards the Harris/Waltz campaign in the swing states.

By appearing on enough state ballots, Kennedy’s campaign hopes to secure over 5% of the popular vote, which will make him eligible for public matching funding in future elections.

On the Ballot 

Kennedy continues to achieve more ballot access successes. For example, he is now set to appear on Maryland’s ballot after election officials verified over 15,000 signatures, according to The Daily Record. Kennedy only needed 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, and Kennedy’s volunteers collected more than 27,000 signatures. 

Kennedy also will officially be placed on the ballot in Kentucky. On August 26, Michael Adams, Kentucky Secretary of State, confirmed the news in a post on X. 

Currently, Kennedy is still officially on the ballot in 28 states. This represents a total of 294 electors. Ballot access in Delaware, Illinois and New York are still pending ongoing litigation.

Off the Ballot

Removing Kennedy’s name from some state ballots has been fluid, with legal complications and other twists and turns. Even though Kennedy requested to be removed from the ballot in battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, these states have refused. 

As of August 30, Kennedy has withdrawn from the ballot in Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Maine, and Nevada.

Nevada is expected to be a crucial battleground state in the election. In 2020, President Biden won the state over Trump by a mere 33,596 votes. 

Nevada has been a state of contention over the past few months, as Kennedy was facing a ballot access lawsuit filed by the Nevada Democratic party. The legal action alleged that Kennedy should not be on the ballot due to his affiliations with various minor political parties.

After suspending his campaign, Kennedy no longer wanted to be on the ballot in Nevada, since it’s a swing state. After the August 20 deadline to withdraw from the ballot passed, the Democratic lawsuit against Kennedy became an advantage for his new strategy. Private negotiations followed between the Kennedy campaign and the Nevada Democratic Party. The two sides reached an agreement whereby Kennedy’s name would be removed from the ballot and the lawsuit dropped. 

Kennedy has also officially been removed from the ballot in South Carolina. The Alliance Party, which nominated Kennedy for president on May 31, decided to withdraw his nomination after Kennedy announced his campaign suspension. 

The Chairwoman of the Alliance Party, Keisha Long, quoted by WCBD News 2, said, “While the Party wishes Mr. Kennedy well, the Alliance Party of South Carolina and its candidates are dedicated to providing voters with a choice other than that provided by the Democratic and Republican political parties.” 

In Michigan, Kennedy was nominated as a candidate by the Natural Law Party. Quoted in an NBC report, Cheri Hardmon, a spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office, stated that “minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election.” According to Axios, this decision was based on the fact that the Natural Law Party cannot hold another convention to select new electors since it’s past the primary.

In Wisconsin, Kennedy will remain on the ballot after the Wisconsin Elections Commission denied his request to be removed, as reported by the Associated Press. The commission also voted to keep independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the Wisconsin ballot after Democrats attempted to kick him off. The More Voter Choice Fund, a non-partisan organization, was instrumental in winning the case for West.

Earlier this week, the We The People Party requested that Kennedy be taken off the ballot in North Carolina, as reported by WRAL News. On Thursday, the State Board of Elections rejected this request, voting 3-2 along party lines during a special meeting. According to WRAL, “The three Democrats voted to keep the We The People Party on the ballot, while the board's two Republicans wanted to remove the party from the North Carolina ballot.”

The below map from the website 270toWin tracks where Kennedy is on the ballot.

States in gold are those where Kennedy is officially on the ballot. States in beige are those where he has submitted signatures that have not yet been certified.

Pink states are those in which Kennedy has withdrawn from the ballot or has not yet submitted paperwork.