Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files suit to remove himself from Wisconsin presidential ballot

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to have his name removed from the disputed state’s presidential ballot after the state’s election commission voted to keep him on it.

Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump. Kennedy said he would try to get his name removed from ballots in battleground states, while telling supporters they could continue to back him in most states where they are unlikely to influence 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 pending.

Kennedy argued in the Wisconsin lawsuit filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court that third-party candidates are discriminated against 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 the election to certify their presidential nominee. Independent candidates like Kennedy can only withdraw before the Aug. 6 deadline for filing nomination papers.

State law does not provide any possibility for independent presidential candidates to withdraw from the ballot after filing 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 it failed. That vote allowed county election officials to begin printing ballots to meet upcoming state deadlines for mailing absentee ballots.

Kennedy is asking that the election commission be barred from putting his name on the ballot and that the court 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 at the polls could be a key factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 and about 23,000 votes.

In 2016, Green Party candidate Jill Stein won just over 31,000 votes in Wisconsin, more than Trump’s margin of victory of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.