MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to have his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot after the state’s Election Commission decided to keep him on.
Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump. Kennedy said he would seek to have his name removed from the ballots in swing states, while telling supporters they could continue to support him in most states where they were unlikely to affect the outcome.
Kennedy also filed a lawsuit in neighboring Michigan, but a judge ruled Tuesday that he must remain on the ballot. A lawsuit filed Friday in North Carolina seeking to remove him from the ballot is still pending.
Kennedy argued in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wisconsin’s Dane County Superior Court that the lawsuit discriminates against third-party candidates because state law treats Republicans and Democrats running for president differently.
Republicans and Democrats have until 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in September before an election to certify their presidential nomination. Independent candidates like Kennedy can withdraw only before the Aug. 6 deadline for filing nomination papers.
State law does not allow independent presidential candidates to remove themselves from the ballot after they file their nomination papers, unless they die. Kennedy filed his papers before the Aug. 6 deadline.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission, citing that law, voted 5-1 last week to approve Kennedy’s name for the ballot after an attempt by Republican commissioners to remove him failed. That vote allowed county election workers to print ballots to meet upcoming state deadlines for mailing ballots.
Kennedy is asking the Electoral Commission to prohibit his name from being placed on the ballot and for the court to suspend the commission’s vote on the matter.
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Elections Commission did not respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
Kennedy is one of eight presidential candidates on the ballot in Wisconsin.
The presence of independent and third-party candidates on the ballot could be a significant factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by a margin of between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.
In 2016, Green Party candidate Jill Stein received just over 31,000 votes in Wisconsin — more than Trump’s margin of victory of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have accused her of helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.
