BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A man who recently ran for president before dropping out and endorsing former President Donald Trump will nonetheless be on the ballot in Alabama come Election Day.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the general presidential ballot in Alabama when voters go to the polls on Nov. 5. The Alabama Secretary of State's office certified the ballot Wednesday afternoon.
RFK Jr., who suspended his campaign last week and encouraged his supporters to vote for Trump instead, will join Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris as presidential candidates on the ballot. Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver will also be on the ballot as third-party candidates.
According to Laney Rawls, communications spokesperson for the Alabama Secretary of State's Office, RFK Jr.'s staff had already filed the necessary paperwork prior to ending his campaign. RFK Jr. dropped out of the race last Friday, the deadline for presidential candidate nominations.
In his announcement last week, RFK Jr. said he would be asking election officials in swing states to remove his name from the ballot. The attorney and environmental activist who has been criticized for anti-vaccine sentiments and conspiracy theories had previously run as a Democrat challenging President Joe Biden before deciding to run as an independent candidate.
Despite efforts by his team to be withdrawn from other state ballots, RFK Jr. will continue to be on the ballot in places like Michigan and Wisconsin.
However, not everyone who is running for president will be on the Alabama ballot in November. Noted professor and public intellectual Cornel West will not be on the ballot, with Rawls citing not enough submitted signatures to be considered for certification. After going back and forth between the People's Party and the Green Party, West ultimately opted to run under the newly formed Justice for All Party.
Edwin DeJesus, campaign spokesperson for West, told CBS 42 that voters had the option to cast their vote for West as a write-in candidate.
"In the state of Alabama, write-in votes officially count as a vote, and there are no requirements for official write-in status," DeJesus said in an emailed statement. We encourage everyone to vote their conscience and "Write-in West for the Win."
The election will be held Nov. 5.