Wisconsin Court Makes Ruling On RFK Jr’s Bid To Get Off Ballot

A Wisconsin Appeals Court has agreed to consider former Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s request to remove his name from the state’s presidential ballot.

Kennedy requested his name be removed from the ballot after dropping out of the race and endorsing President Trump.

Kennedy’s appeal was granted after his initial petition to remove his name from Wisconsin’s presidential ballotb was denied.

A Wisconsin court initially denied Kennedy’s request to be removed from the ballot on the grounds of laws that state “a person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot shall appear upon the ballot except in case of death of the person.”

Appeals Court agrees to consider Robert F. Kennedy bid to be removed from Wisconsin ballot https://t.co/IxdIoTS6k0

— Journal Sentinel (@journalsentinel) September 18, 2024

Here’s what The New York Post reported:

A Wisconsin court granted Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appeal to be removed from the presidential ballot in the state after his petition was denied Monday. Now, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has until Friday afternoon to file a response, even after thousands of ballots have already been mailed to voters.

Records show that clerks sent the thousands of ballots en route to Wisconsin voters to comply with the state’s Sept. 19 deadline, but the election commission’s website warns that this data may not be complete or accurate, and ballots marked as sent may not have entered the mail system yet.

Kennedy filed on the Wisconsin deadline for independent candidates on Aug. 6 but ended his presidential bid Aug. 23, opting instead to endorse the Republican in the race, former President Donald Trump.

As The Post reported, four days later the commission denied Kennedy’s request to be taken off the ballot, citing state law that says the name of a person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot “shall appear upon the ballot except in case of death of the person.”

RFK Jr. files appeal in ballot status case, even as thousands of absentee ballots have already been sent to Wisconsin voters https://t.co/eBg2iaqeWi pic.twitter.com/AYViCa3Qv3

— New York Post (@nypost) September 19, 2024

Per The Milwaukee Journal:

A Wisconsin appeals court on Wednesday agreed to consider independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s case as he seeks to have his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot — with an expedited briefing schedule as the clock winds down for clerks to mail absentee ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Kennedy filed the lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission earlier this month in Dane County, arguing independent candidates are treated unfairly because they operate under different deadlines from party-aligned candidates when it comes to ballot access.

Judges Mark Gundrum, Lisa Neubauer and Maria Lazar on the state’s 2nd District Court of Appeals granted Kennedy’s petition for leave to appeal Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke’s Monday decision rejecting the candidate’s request to be dropped from the ballot.

The appeals court’s order requires Kennedy to file a brief by 11 a.m. Thursday and requires a response from WEC by 11 a.m. Friday. Kennedy would then be allowed to file a response by 4 p.m. Friday.