Last week, J.D. Vance, was in Wisconsin, whining that “some bureaucrats” won’t let Robert F. Kennedy change his mind about running and get off the Wisconsin ballot. In what turned out to be a very timely interview, Milwaukee-based talk show UpFront spoke with Wisconsin Election Commissioner Ann Jacobs who made the reason why that is crystal clear:
UPFRONT: Why is RFK Junior’s name still on the ballot?
JACOBS: Wisconsin has a very specific law, and it’s 8.35. And that law literally says that once you have submitted your nomination papers and qualified for the ballot, the only way you can be removed from the ballot is through death. And since RFK Junior is, to my knowledge, still alive, the only way he cannot be removed from the ballot, even though he asked to be removed from it.
UPFRONT: And as you know, there was some debate among commission members. There’s been some reaction to this since the 5 -1 vote about this. Vice presidential Republican nominee, J .D. Vance, was in the Green Bay area this past week, and he said this, take a listen.
VANCE: Look, I think it’s ridiculous that RFK has endorsed Donald Trump. He has petitioned to be taken off the Wisconsin ballot, but a bunch of bureaucrats are gonna keep his name on the ballot because they think it’ll hurt Donald Trump.
UPFRONT: Your response to that?
JACOBS: Read the law. It’s not a discretionary choice for the commission. The law literally says that any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination. That was the law before RFK Junior submitted his nomination papers. It’s still the law today. And when you file nomination papers with the state, you’re subject to the laws of the state.
UPFRONT: So, in your mind, there’s no wiggle room for the commission to say, well, listen, this may be a unique or different circumstance.
JACOBS: Correct. This is a really clear statute. There are lots of times the commission is called on to interpret or try to understand complicated statutes. This one is not complicated, and it’s very clear, and it says the only way you can be removed from the ballot is if you die.
It’s so cut and dried that even a guy with worms in his brains could understand it, right? Apparently not.
RFK, Jr filed a lawsuit against the state claiming his rights are being violated because he is being treated differently than Biden, who also wanted on the ballot and then withdrew his name. The part that Old Worms for Brains misses is that Biden followed the law and withdrew his name before the deadline. Kennedy didn’t. And while some might be able to make an argument that RFK, Jr, is braindead, even that wouldn’t get his name off the ballot.
What I want to know is how many times do these people have to have their asses handed to them in court – either through convictions or lost challenges – until they figure out that they really aren’t above the law.
