RFK Jr. asks appeals court to get him off Wisconsin ballot

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who ended his independent campaign for the presidency last month, has filed a claim in a Waukesha-based state appeals court. It’s his latest attempt to remove his name from Wisconsin’s ballot.

The move comes after a Dane County circuit court rejected a request for an immediate injunction, and after the Wisconsin Elections Commission declined to remove him, citing state law.

In the appeal, filed Monday in District II of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Kennedy’s attorney argues that he is being treated as a “second-rate” candidate, “burdened by laws and restrictions that don’t apply to the two major-party candidates.”

The appeal argues third-party and independent candidates cannot be held to more stringent ballot access requirements, and asserts that the earlier deadline they have to withdraw from a ballot violates federal equal protection law.

Kennedy filed his nomination papers on Aug. 6, the deadline for independent candidates. Republican and Democratic party candidates have until the first Tuesday of September to certify their nominees.

The appeal also argues that Kennedy’s First Amendment protections have been violated by forcing him to appear as a candidate when he is no longer actively seeking the presidency, and calls for the court to “take the rare — but appropriate — step of addressing this claim immediately on the merits and granting Kennedy the relief he seeks: order his name not added to the ballot.”

County clerks have a deadline of Sept. 18 to print ballots. The filing argues that the appeals court must act rapidly to beat that timeline.

Kennedy’s attorney declined to comment to WPR, saying he does not grant interviews about cases.

Kennedy, who had successfully secured ballot access as either a third-party or independent candidate in dozens of states, dropped out of the race on Aug. 23, throwing his weight behind the candidacy of former President Donald Trump.

In the days immediately following that announcement, he sought to remove his name from the ballots of many swing states, expressing concern that his presence would pull votes from Trump.

That effort has succeeded in some states, but his immediate request to the Wisconsin Elections Commission was denied on Aug. 27. The bipartisan commission voted 5-1 to keep him on the ballot, citing state law that says, “Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination.”

The appeal briefing argues that the commission misinterpreted state law and the word “qualifies.”

“Before the ballot was approved, Kennedy withdrew his candidacy and since he cannot be drafted into being a candidate — against his will — he no longer ‘qualifies’ as one,” the appeal argues.

These are similar arguments to those raised in a lawsuit filed against the Wisconsin Elections Commission last week in Dane County. A commission spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Kennedy has also filed requests to remove his name from ballots in other swing states, including Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Those efforts have been successful in Nevada and Pennsylvania.

An earlier decision in North Carolina to keep him on the ballot was overturned Monday by an appeals court, while a second court in Michigan ruled that his name must remain in place.