Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sues to pull name from Wisconsin's presidential ballot [View all]

Source: USA Today

Published 3:25 p.m. ET Sept. 4, 2024


WASHINGTON – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the Wisconsin Elections Commission in an attempt to remove his name from the ballot in the battleground state just two months before the presidential election.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Dane County, argued independent candidates such as Kennedy are treated unfairly by the elections commission because they operate under different deadlines from party-aligned candidates when it comes to ballot access.

"In First Amendment parlance: it has compelled him to not just speak, but to associate with a cause he doesn’t want to be part of," attorneys for Kennedy wrote of WEC in the suit. "In doing so, Kennedy’s rights have been violated. He has not been treated fairly or equally with the other presidential candidates who declared and ran for the presidency and have since wanted to withdraw."

Party-affiliated candidates had until 5 p.m. Sept. 3 to certify their candidates, according to guidance from the elections commission, while independent candidates had until 5 p.m. Aug. 6. Kennedy ended his campaign on Aug. 23. The filing comes just a week after the state's election board denied a request from the Kennedy campaign to be removed from the ballot after he dropped out of the presidential race last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/04/rfk-jr-wisconsin-ballot/75072219007/