On Monday, September 16, Judge Stephen Ehlke of Dane County, Wisconsin, ruled that the name of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will continue to appear on the ballot in the state of Wisconsin.
According to the ruling, the judge rejected Kennedy’s proposal and decided that Kennedy’s name will remain on the ballot for the November presidential election in Wisconsin. This is because under Wisconsin law, a candidate’s name must remain on the ballot unless the candidate passes away.
Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on September 3, requesting the court to remove his name from the ballot.
In his lawsuit, Kennedy questioned the state law for favoring Republican and Democratic candidates while discriminating against independent candidates like himself. He pointed out that Republicans and Democrats have until 5 p.m. on September 3 to confirm their presidential nominees, while independent candidates must decide whether to withdraw before the deadline for submitting nomination papers on August 6. Kennedy believes that this practice is unfairly discriminatory.
With only two months left until the presidential election, both Trump and Harris are putting in their full efforts in campaigning, trying to win the support of swing state voters.
After suspending his campaign in August, Kennedy shifted his support to Trump and withdrew from 10 highly competitive swing state districts. Even though the deadline for withdrawal has passed, the judge’s ruling could still potentially remove his name from the ballot.
Earlier this month, Kennedy won a court order in North Carolina to have his name removed from the ballot in that state. However, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled last week that his name will continue to appear on the ballot in Michigan.