RFK Jr. asks Supreme Court to keep his name on New York ballot despite Trump endorsement

By John Fritze, CNN

(CNN) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked the Supreme Court on Monday to keep his name on New York’s presidential ballot, even though he suspended his campaign in August and backed former President Donald Trump.

In an emergency appeal, Kennedy argued that New York voters who signed petitions supporting him “have a constitutional right to have Kennedy placed on the ballot – and to vote for him, whether he is campaigning for their vote or not.”

In August, Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, pledging to remove his name from the ballot in a handful of battleground states yet encouraging supporters in non-competitive states traditionally won by Republicans or Democrats to vote for him.

But in the weeks since he dropped out of the race, Kennedy has made more direct appeals to his supporters to back Trump regardless of where they live, while also withdrawing his name from the ballot in some deeply Republican states.

“A lot of people are asking me, if they live in a red state or a blue state, should they still vote for me? What about swing states?,” Kennedy wrote in a fundraising email earlier this month. “The answer is easy. No matter what state you live in, I urge you to vote for Donald Trump. The reason is that is the only way we can get me and everything I stand for into Washington DC and fulfill the mission that motivated my campaign.”

Kennedy was removed from the ballot in New York because, election officials said, he included an invalid address on his nominating petition. Lower courts, including the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, have rejected his efforts to challenge that decision.

It’s the second presidential ballot access appeal to reach the Supreme Court in recent weeks, underscoring the spoiler role third party and independent candidates can play in tight elections. On Friday, the Supreme Court denied an emergency request from the Green Party to ensure presidential candidate Jill Stein could appear on the ballot in the battleground state of Nevada.

Kennedy’s request was filed with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals from the 2nd Circuit. Sotomayor requested a response from New York election officials by Wednesday afternoon.

CNN’s Aaron Pelilsh contributed to this report.

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