Wisconsin election officials keep Green Party candidate on ballot

Wisconsin election officials on Friday declined to remove Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein from the state's ballot. The request came from David Strange, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) employee.

Strange filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Wednesday asking for Stein's disqualification, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Angela O'Brien Sharpe, attorney for the elections commission, dismissed the complaint for improperly naming elections commissioners as respondents.

Sharpe's rationale was that the commissioners, as respondents, would have to decide a matter brought against them, which would present an ethical dilemma.

DNC spokesperson Adrienne Watson immediately announced the DNC would file a lawsuit to keep Stein off the ballot. Stein did not reply to the AP's request for comment.

Wisconsin's bipartisan elections commission unanimously approved Stein for the ballot in February because the Green Party won over 1% of the 2022 statewide vote.

Strange argued the Green Party could not nominate presidential electors in Wisconsin because no Green Party member holds state office. Without electors, Strange contended, no Green Party candidate could appear on the ballot for president.

Stein's presence on the Wisconsin ballot could affect the election because "four of the past six presidential elections [in Wisconsin] have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes."

In 2016, Stein won more than 31,000 votes in the presidential election in Wisconsin. This figure, which exceeded Trump's margin of victory in the state, led some Democrats to blame Stein for helping Trump win the presidency.