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MagaMarkt – A court in Wisconsin has dismissed a lawsuit brought by supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenging the state’s ballot requirements for independent presidential candidates.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in August, arguing that the state’s ballot access requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic were unconstitutional because they required in-person collection of signatures.
Wisconsin law requires independent presidential candidates to submit their nomination papers by a deadline in June with at least 2,000 valid signatures. The law also mandates that at least 10 people must be present to witness a candidate signing the papers.
Supporters of Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, argued that the in-person collection of signatures during the pandemic was dangerous and hindered their ability to get on the ballot.
However, U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper ruled on Friday that the state’s interests in protecting the integrity of the ballot outweighed the burdens placed on the plaintiffs.
Pepper wrote in her decision that “the State has a legitimate interest in enforcing the election laws as they are written, and often, as they have been written for many years.”
The dismissal of the lawsuit means that Kennedy will not be able to appear on the ballot as an independent presidential candidate in Wisconsin for the upcoming election.
Kennedy is a son of former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He is a well-known activist who has gained attention for his anti-vaccine views and conspiracy theories related to vaccines and public health.
The lawsuit in Wisconsin was one of several legal challenges Kennedy and his supporters have filed in multiple states in an attempt to get his name on the ballot for the 2020 election.