Wisconsin judge rules RFK Jr's name must stay on the ballot

Dane County Circuit Court judge Stephen Ehlke ruled Monday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name must stay on the ballot in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.

As the basis of his ruling, Ehlke insisted state law dictates that presidential candidates who have submitted nomination papers cannot be excised by the ballot except by death. Kennedy fully intended to run as an independent in the Nov. 5 presidential election prior to his decision to endorse Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and join forces with his campaign.

“The statute is plain on its face,” Ehlke said while adding, “Mr. Kennedy has no one to blame but himself if he didn’t want to be on the ballot.”

Kennedy is facing a timeline to have his name removed from the Wisconsin presidential ballot with clerks saying they must begin printing election forms by Wednesday. A state appellate court could next consider Kennedy’s request. The second district court of appeals was waiting for Ehlke to decide before responding, The Guardian reported.

The Wisconsin elections commission also turned down Kennedy’s request by a five to one margin, citing the same statute about death being the only reason for removing a candidate’s name. Presidential voting in Wisconsin is expected to be evenly split between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Kennedy’s objective of having his name removed from ballots in key battleground states has been a mixed bag of success and failure. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Sept. 9 that Kennedy’s name must be removed from state presidential ballots. The 4-3 decision upheld an earlier appeals court ruling that also agreed Kennedy’s name be stricken from the form.

That decision, emboldening his coalition with Trump, was tempered by another one in Michigan, where the state’s Supreme Court ruled against his request for removal. As an independent candidate, Kennedy fought to get his name on as many presidential ballots as possible. Since choosing to endorse Trump in the upcoming election, he has now promised to have his name removed from the ballots in 10 battleground states.