Kennedy has his name struck from ballots in two key states

On the same day that absentee ballots for the November election were beginning to be mailed out, Michigan and North Carolina appeals courts ordered that Robert F. Kennedy's name be removed from them. However, a Wisconsin court rejected the former candidate's appeal.

In an election as close as the polls predict this year's vote to be, this measure is an important reinforcement for Donald Trump's candidacy in two swing states that are presumed to be key to decide who will be the next tenant of the White House. Trump celebrated it as a triumph upon learning the news during an event with the majority police union, the Fraternal Order of Police: "So all Bobby's people are going to vote for me."

Kennedy left the race with 7-15% projected votes

This is not minor support, even if not everyone who planned to vote for the last presidential candidate in the Kennedy saga switches to Trump. Polls projected between 7 and 15% of votes to the former Democrat when he decided to drop out of the race and join the former president's campaign.

The decision of the appellate courts also means delaying the mailing of ballots for voters who want to exercise their right through absentee voting. In North Carolina, the Board of Elections alerted county election officials not to begin the process after learning of the ruling, just hours before the mailing was to begin.

A setback for Democratic election officials

Tar Heel State election officials argued that the ballots were already printed and their removal and replacement would entail a significant cost, something that wasn't enough for the appeals court. Nor were claims by Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson that it was "too late" to change the ballots. Benson has indicated she will appeal the ruling.

However, the third state in which Kennedy sought to withdraw his name did not give him the nod. A Wisconsin judge ruled that in order for his name to be removed from the ballot, first there must be a full hearing, which he set for Sept. 11, a week before absentee ballots are mailed out in the state. The rationale for denying Kennedy's claim is based on the fact that, according to state law, "any person who files and qualifies to be on the ballot may not reject his or her candidacy."