Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed a bill into law on Friday that will allow candidates to remove their names from ballots after withdrawing from an election race.
Under the new law, which received bi-partisan support, candidates who are independent can withdraw their names from the ballot, while candidates with major parties who undergo primaries will be unable to do so.
The state of Wisconsin is known for having one of the most difficult ballot name removal laws in the US, with the only way of removal being through the candidate’s death. According to Fox 11 News, “Kennedy got fewer than 18,000 votes, or about 0.5% of the vote total,” in Wisconsin.
During the 2024 US presidential election, then-candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to have his name removed in Wisconsin and other non-swing states after withdrawing and endorsing Donald Trump.
However, in order to withdraw one’s name from a Wisconsin ballot, a statement must be sent to the Wisconsin Elections Commission alongside the payment of a fee. In further detail, a candidate must do the following actions.
“1. File with the commission the sworn statement and identity verification required under par.
2. Pays a fee of $2,500 to the commission if the person is a candidate for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, U.S. senator, or, with respect to the general election, president and vice president of the United States.
3. Pays a fee of $500 to the commission if the person is a candidate for U.S. representative in Congress.
4. Pays a fee of $250 to the commission if the person is a candidate for state senate or representative to the assembly.”
