Two Republican lawmakers have proposed allowing independent candidates to withdraw their request to appear on the Wisconsin ballot.
The bill from Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, comes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was barred from dropping his bid to be on the state’s presidential ballot after turning in nomination papers last year. That’s because state law requires candidates who have filed signatures to appear on the ballot if certified unless they die.
Kennedy filed nomination papers ahead of the Aug. 6 deadline for independent candidates to turn them in. He then announced weeks later that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Donald Trump. The Elections Commission rejected his request to withdraw from consideration for the ballot, citing state law, and he unsuccessfully challenged that decision in the courts.
The legislation would apply to all independent candidates running for president or vice president, but not those running under the banner of a major party, such as Dems or Republicans.
Steffen told WisPolitics that the reason the bill will only apply to independent candidates for president is the different process by which an independent candidate gets on the ballot.
Candidates from major parties get on the ballot through a nomination from their party. Whereas, independent candidates appear on the ballot circulating nominations for signatures then filing the nomination to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Steffen said they “decided to focus our efforts on voluntary-candidate driven scenarios.” He argued that requiring Kennedy to remain on the ballot means he took away votes from the candidate he wanted to win. Kennedy received 17,740 votes in November — about 0.5% — as Trump won the state by 29,397.
The bill also would apply to candidates of any party for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, state Senate or state Assembly.
In order to get their name off the ballot, candidates would need to submit a sworn statement to the Wisconsin Elections Commission withdrawing their candidacy prior to the certification of the names to appear on the ballot. The commission would need to verify the statement, and the candidate would then need to pay a processing fee: $1,000 for national or statewide candidates or $250 for non-statewide candidates.
The candidates could withdraw their names ahead of the primary partisan election with a deadline of June 10. And they could withdraw ahead of the general election if it’s before the fourth Tuesday in August.
Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs said it was perfectly within the Legislature’s purview to change the law. She was concerned about the timing of withdrawal.
The filing deadline for legislative candidates is June 1 in an even-numbered year. Jacobs pointed out that, under the bill’s guidelines, a candidate could wait until early August to leave the race. That could leave no opportunity for another candidate to get on the ballot. A candidate could also win a partisan primary and then drop out before the general election, leaving no opportunity for someone from that party to run except as a write-in.
Steffen said that he would be open to amendments for scenarios like what Jacobs described.