MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will remain on the ballot in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin after the state Supreme Court decided on Monday not to hear a Democratic challenge seeking to oust her.
Democrats are concerned that third-party candidates could draw votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris and help Republican Donald Trump win Wisconsin. The presence of independent and third party candidates on the ballot could be a deciding factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.
The court decided against hearing the challenge brought by David Strange, an employee of the Democratic National Committee, who sought to oust Stein from the ballot. The court did not explain its reasoning.
“We determine that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief he seeks,” the court said in its unsigned order.
Strange argued that the Green Party can’t nominate presidential electors in Wisconsin because the party does not have any state officeholders or legislative candidates authorized to nominate presidential electors.
The Green Party and Republicans countered that the party met all of its legal requirements and that Stein should be allowed to remain on the ballot.
Michael White, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party, called the complaint a “mark of fear by the Democratic Party” and hailed the court’s decision not to consider it.
“It was an inevitable conclusion because the complaint had no merit to begin with and we knew that,” he said.
However, White said the attention generated by Democrats attempting to knock Stein off the ballot motivated Green Party members.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Adrienne Watson called the decision “disappointing” and said the Green Party should not be on the ballot.
Stein last appeared on the Wisconsin ballot 2016, when she won just over 31,000 votes — more than Trump’s winning margin of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.
Strange had challenged a Wisconsin Elections Commission decision in February to grant the Green Party ballot access. The commission did so because a candidate from the party won more than 1% of the vote in a statewide race in 2022, meeting a requirement under the law. Sheryl McFarland got nearly 1.6% of the vote while finishing last in a four-way race for secretary of state.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday to certify which candidates can appear on the ballot. Democrats are also challenging the placement of independent candidate Cornel West on the ballot. A Republican National Committee employee is challenging independent Shiva Ayyadurai’s candidacy.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court kept Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins off the ballot in 2020 after the elections commission deadlocked on whether he filed proper nominating signatures.
