Wisconsin on Tuesday rejected a request by former independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed from the state's ballot, despite his campaign halting.
On August 23, Kennedy announced his intention to remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states and endorsed 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Voted According to NBC News, the department opposed Kennedy's request to remove him from the ballot and granted him access on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Wisconsin Election Commission Chairwoman Ann Jacobs pointed out to another commissioner who was struggling to keep Kennedy on the ballot that a law requires all candidates who have filed registration to appear on the state's ballot unless they die.
“The law literally says, 'Anyone who has filed paperwork to run and is eligible to appear on the ballot cannot withdraw from the race. Their name will appear on the ballot unless they die,'” Jacobs told the other committee members, according to NBC News.
“You're emotionally saying, 'This shouldn't be the law,' and the law in this case is crystal clear,” Jacobs added. “I don't disagree with you. It's odd, but I don't think we have any discretion here.”
Jacobs also posted a screenshot of the Wisconsin law on social media, addressing “pearl-clutching people who are pretending not to know about the Wisconsin law that governs requests to not have RFK Jr. on the ballot.”
To the pearl-clutching folks who pretend not to know about the Wisconsin law governing RFK Jr.'s request not to appear on the ballot: pic.twitter.com/YPNEdpYY6S
— Ann Jacobs (@AnnJacobsMKE) August 27, 2024
Jacobs Screenshot Laws and Regulations Regarding “vacancies after nomination,” it states, “A person who has filed a nomination and is eligible to appear on the ballot may not decline his or her nomination. His or her name shall appear on the ballot unless he or she dies.”
In Wisconsin, polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris leading President Trump by 1 percentage point. Real Clear Politics Average: President Joe Biden Wisconsin In 2020, it increased by 0.7%, flipping states that Trump won in 2016. (RELATED: RFK Jr. announces he will “actively” campaign with Donald Trump, says other Democrats will join team)
Michigan also rejected a request to remove Kennedy from the state's ballot. Sheri Hardmon, a senior spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, told The Daily Caller that Kennedy must remain on the ballot because he is a minor party candidate for the Natural Law Party, which cannot select new electors.
Michigan and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania, are the three most closely watched battleground states and are seen as potentially decisive in the 2024 election.
