Wisconsin Supreme Court To Hear Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Ballot Case

At the Wisconsin Election Commission’s request, the state’s Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up the petition to rule on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s lawsuit seeking his removal from the ballot, bypassing the court of appeals.

The decision follows the Dane County Circuit Court’s ruling Monday to keep Kennedy on the ballot.

“Given the need for a prompt resolution of this appeal, the court does not contemplate holding oral argument in this matter,” the court announced. “The court will endeavor to issue a written decision as expeditiously as possible.”

The action breaks with typical court procedure to reject premature petitions, leading Justices Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler to issue a dissent.

“A majority of this court grants the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s (WEC) petition to bypass the court of appeals before the WEC has filed its response brief, despite the majority’s professed practice in prior cases of ‘generally den[ying] as premature petitions for bypass prior to the filing of briefs in the court of appeals,’ Bradley said Friday. “Such arbitrariness by courts is antithetical to the original understanding of the judicial role.”

Kennedy’s effort to remove himself from the state’s ballot has encountered setbacks for months. After withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing former President Donald Trump, Kennedy had sent a letter Aug. 23 to the WEC, requesting his name be removed from the ballot.

But in its certification of presidential candidates five days later, the WEC voted 5-1 to put Kennedy’s name on the ballot, saying he had missed the Aug. 6 deadline for third party candidates to withdraw from the General Election. Following the decision, county clerks were authorized to begin printing ballots and Kennedy filed his lawsuit, which the Dane County Circuit Court struck down.

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