Wisconsin officials are asking the state Supreme Court to decide whether RFK Jr. remains on the ballot

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Election officials in Wisconsin asked the state’s liberal-controlled Supreme Court on Thursday to decide whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should remain on the presidential ballot pending an appeal.

Kennedy has been trying to get his name off the ballot in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, a divided North Carolina Supreme Court upheld him on the ballot there, while the Michigan Supreme Court upheld him on that state’s ballot.

Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on September 3 seeking a court order to remove him from the ballot. A Denmark County judge refused to oblige, ruling Monday that state law requires candidates to remain on the ballot unless they die.

Kennedy has asked the 2nd District Court of Appeal to review that decision. Attorneys for the Wisconsin Board of Elections filed a motion with the state Supreme Court to ask the justices to take up the case directly without waiting for the 2nd Circuit’s decision. They argued that the case needs a timely, final resolution because officials have already begun sending absentee ballots bearing Kennedy’s name to voters.