Dems fail to remove Green Party candidate from ballot

One presidential candidate in Wisconsin wanted to stay on the ballot and one candidate didn’t. One candidate got her way last week and one didn’t.

The state Supreme Court rejected an attempt by a Democratic Party staffer to have Green Party candidate Jill Stein tossed from the November ballot. However, in a separate action, the state elections commission confirmed that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has dropped out of the race in battleground states and endorsed former President Donald Trump, cannot legally have his name removed in the state.

In the Stein case, David Strange, who works for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as the deputy operations director for Wisconsin, filed a complaint alleging that Stein was not eligible for the ballot.

“In particular, and as set forth in this complaint, WGP (the Green Party)) is legally foreclosed under Wisconsin law from nominating any presidential electors, and therefore cannot field candidates for president and vice president who are eligible to appear on the ballot,” the complaint argues.

Specifically, the complaint contended that the Green Party had no one who qualified to nominate electors — which can be  “state officers,” holdover state senators, or candidates for the Assembly or Senate nominated by the party in the primary — and, thus, the complaint alleged, Stein could not appear on the presidential ballot.

“It has long been clear that WGP had no individual in the latter two categories [state officers and holdover state senators] who could be eligible to select presidential electors,” the complaint alleged. “However, WGP could have secured a candidate for a legislative seat with as few as 200 write-in votes. The August 13, 2024 primary was the last opportunity for WGP to nominate a candidate for Wisconsin Senate or Assembly before the 2024 general election. But, WGP failed to nominate any candidates for Wisconsin Senate or Assembly, according to the requirements of [the law].”

The high court dismissed the complaint without explaining why.

“We determine that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief he seeks,” the court said in an unsigned order.

Stein was effusive.

“This is a big win against the anti-Democratic Party’s war on democracy and voter choice,” Stein said. “The Democrats constantly preach about ‘saving democracy,’ when in reality they’ve been doing everything they can to crush democracy by trying to remove the Green Party and others from the ballot.”

The DNC had said the case was about following the rules.

“We take the nomination process for president and vice president very seriously and believe every candidate should follow the rules,” Adrienne Watson, senior adviser to the DNC, said in a statement to media. “Because the Wisconsin Green Party hasn’t fielded candidates for legislative or statewide office and doesn’t have any current incumbent legislative or statewide office holders, it cannot nominate candidates and should not be on the ballot in November.”

Wisconsin Republican Party GOP chairman Brian Schimming said the decision was a win for democracy and fair elections. 

“For years, Democrats have silenced and disenfranchised Wisconsin voters by removing inconvenient candidates from the ballot,” Schimming said. “This time around, their undemocratic schemes have failed. If Democrats hope to win over voters, they will have to do so through earnest persuasion instead of disqualification.” 

Rick Esenberg, the president and general counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), who represented two voters in the case, said granting the petition would have disenfranchised the votes of tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, and ultimately undermined ballot access by future third-party candidates. 

“This ruling from the court is a win for Wisconsin elections and the voters who place their faith and trust in the democratic process,” Esenberg said. 

Esenberg said heading straight to the Supreme Court and seek far-reaching, antidemocratic relief was entirely inappropriate. 

“Four years ago, the Wisconsin Elections Commission rejected the Green Party’s effort to get on the ballot,” WILL stated. “When the Green Party filed an original action in our state’s highest court just four years ago, the Court — by a 4-3 vote — rightly rejected it as untimely, saying it is too close to an election to do anything.”

In filing the amicus brief in the case, WILL represented a Green Party voter and a libertarian, both of who maintained that a last-minute decision had the potential to sow doubt on the election. 

“I am vehemently opposed to the actions proposed by Mr. Strange on behalf of the Democratic Party,” WILL client Travis Kobs said. “I believe that voters’ rights to choose candidates that match their beliefs shall not be limited, as I feel Mr. Strange intends. I urge the court to guarantee that our ballot access is not limited to Democrat and Republican parties in Wisconsin.” 

Rita Maniotis, another WILL client, said she was a proud member of the Green Party who votes for the candidates in favor of her values and interests. 

“It is frankly unbelievable that the Democratic Party views my vote as a chess piece in their political game,” she said.

In the brief, WILL argued that the United States Supreme Court has determined that ballot access must be genuinely open to all, subject to reasonable requirements, and that the DNC’s reading of the state statute about who can nominate electors was not reasonable.

“Strange has not alleged that nomination papers are deficient; instead, he appears to claim that the Green Party candidates for President and Vice President, Jill Stein and Butch Ware, are either ‘conclusively ... ineligible to be nominated or elected’ or not qualified to hold office,” the brief states. “Nothing in [Wisconsin statute]  prohibits ballot access for a presidential candidate who belongs to a political party that does not have members who are candidates for or holders of state office. Strange conflates a purported lack of candidates for or holders of state office with evidence of ‘conclusive[]’ ineligibility.”

Those convention attendees who choose electors do not even nominate or elect a presidential candidate — they nominate the presidential electors, the brief argued. 

“Relatedly, the prohibition of [the law] refers to the qualifications of the individual candidates for office, not the selection of electors,” the brief stated. “Stein and Ware meet all qualifications listed in the United States Constitution to hold the offices of President and Vice President. Wisconsin has no power to add to these requirements outlined in the US Constitution.”

In a separate matter, the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted to retain the name of Robert F. Kennedy on the ballot, though Kennedy effectively quit the race in late August and endorsed Trump. In Wisconsin, any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot must appear on the ballot. The single exception is the death of that person.

Wisconsin election commissioners also approved independent candidate Cornel West for the ballot after rejecting another Democratic Party challenge to his candidacy.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.