The Democrats are once again displaying their “pro-democracy” beliefs by trying to remove a candidate from the ballot, this time Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.
Democrats showed exactly how terrified they are that Vice President Kamala Harris could lose to former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November election — this time by demanding that the key swing state of Wisconsin remove Stein from the ballot, likely out of fear that she could take votes away from Harris.
They do have some cause for concern though, as Stein received more than 31,000 votes in Wisconsin’s 2016 election — where Trump ended up beating two-time failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by just under 23,000 votes, leading some Democrats to blame Stein for Trump’s victory. This could happen again in November, as Stein has very similar positions to the Democrats but is especially attracting pro-Palestine voters, as Harris has desperately tried to play both sides of the conflict, ultimately angering pro-Palestine activists who won’t even allow the tiniest bit of support for Israel’s existence.
Stop the genocide.
Stop the censorship.
End the wars.
Cut military spending.
Medicare for all.
Guaranteed housing.
A living wage.
A liveable planet.Jill Stein 2024.
Another word is possible. pic.twitter.com/oj4KJJYtll— Prof Zenkus (@anthonyzenkus) August 14, 2024
In a complaint sent to Wisconsin on Wednesday, a member of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) demanded that Stein be removed from the ballot because the Green Party does not have a person in the state who is qualified to nominate electors — as Wisconsin state law requires people who nominate electors to be current state officers or candidates for the state legislature. The DNC member argued that without electors, the Green Party is therefore ineligible to have a candidate on the presidential ballot.
“We take the nomination process for President and Vice President very seriously and believe every candidate should follow the rules,” senior adviser to the DNC Adrienne Watson claimed in a statement. “Because the Wisconsin Green Party hasn’t fielded candidates for legislative or statewide office and doesn’t have any current incumbent legislative or statewide office holders, it cannot nominate candidates and should not be on the ballot in November.”
The DNC’s attempt to prevent Wisconsin voters from exercising their right to vote for a candidate of their choosing was widely mocked on social media, with many pointing out that this is just another example of the “pro-democracy party” being incredibly anti-democratic.
The party of democracy, folks. pic.twitter.com/VqHC0spToN
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) August 15, 2024
“Jill Stein has received more primary votes than Kamala Harris but don’t let that get in the way of Democracy,” Blaire White quipped.
Jill Stein has received more primary votes than Kamala Harris but don’t let that get in the way of Democracy™ https://t.co/zH5RRpd2MI
— BLAIRE WHITE (@MsBlaireWhite) August 15, 2024
X user Sarah Ann Rhoades pointed out that this effort is very likely to succeed, writing: “If this gets to the WI Supreme Court, no way does the Green Party make the ballot.”
If this gets to the WI Supreme Court, no way does the Green Party make the ballot. https://t.co/kALBFrjCoJ
— SarahAnnRhoades (@SarahAnnRhoades) August 15, 2024
Rhoades is likely correct, as there is precedent for this. In 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Howie Hawkins, another presidential candidate from the Green Party, could not be added to the ballot — arguing that many mail-in ballots had already been sent out due to COVID, and thus adding Hawkins to the ballot now “create a substantial possibility of confusion among voters who had already received, and possibly returned, the original ballots.”
If Hawkins had been allowed on the ballot, Trump may have won Wisconsin — as President Joe Biden only won by a little over 20,000 votes, a margin that could have easily gone to the Green Party candidate.
Meanwhile, the Green Party isn’t the only third party that Democrats are trying to keep off the ballot — as a petition from a Democrat group to remove independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the ballot in New York succeeded last week, with the judge ruling that Kennedy had falsely stated his residency was in New York when he is a resident of California, though Kennedy has residences in both states.
Kennedy has already appealed the ruling, calling out the Democrats’ hypocrisy in a statement that read: “The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy. They aren’t confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice. We will appeal and we will win.”
.@RobertKennedyJr: "We will appeal and we will win."
"The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy. They aren’t confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice."https://t.co/afsXCsQZ26
— Stefanie Spear (@StefanieSpear) August 13, 2024
