Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be able to withdraw his candidacy in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin, election officials confirmed Tuesday, days after he ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Kennedy is on the Michigan ballot as the candidate of the Natural Law Party, which nominated him at its convention this year. Cheri Hardmon, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed that “minor party candidates cannot withdraw their candidacy, so his name will remain on the ballot in November.”

In Wisconsin, the state election commission met Tuesday to approve ballot access for presidential and vice presidential candidates. Although Kennedy asked to withdraw his nomination as an independent candidate, the commission voted against it, according to an archived video of the meeting released by WisconsinEye, a nonprofit public affairs network.

“The law literally states, ‘Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies for election may not decline the nomination. That person’s name must appear on the ballot, except in the event of the person’s death,'” said Ann Jacobs, the commission’s chair, another commission member who is embarrassed by the idea of ​​keeping someone on the ballot who does not wish to pursue his or her candidacy.

“You give me the most sentimental comment: ‘I don’t think that should be required by law.’ The law is crystal clear in this case,” she added. “I don’t disagree with you – it’s odd, but I don’t see any discretion that we have here.”

It’s possible that Kennedy could have trouble withdrawing from the ballot in other traditional swing states as well, NPR reported Tuesday.

In his speech on Friday, Kennedy announced that he would drop out of the race and support Trump, and that he would work to remove his name from the ballot in states where he could play a disruptive role.

“In about 10 swing states where my presence would be a spoiler, I will withdraw my name. I have already begun that process and am urging voters not to vote for me,” Kennedy said.

“Our polls have consistently shown that if I stay on the ballot in the swing states, I would likely hand the election to Democrats with whom I disagree on the most existential issues,” he added.

Kennedy added, however, that he would not remove his name from the ballot in “red” or “blue” states, hoping to give his supporters a chance to vote for him without affecting the outcome. Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, for example, announced Monday that Kennedy would be placed on the ballot in the solidly Republican state.

Kennedy is unlikely to attract a significant number of votes in the states where he is still on the ballot, as he is no longer actively campaigning and is supporting another candidate. However, his decision to drop out was seen as a slight advantage for Trump, as he would be more likely to attract voters who would vote for Trump in a head-to-head matchup with Vice President Kamala Harris.