Off the Editor’s Desk 10-23-24

I have a question about the ballot

We received a copy of the sample ballot for the general election of November 5th. Looking at it I became confused as why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. name is still on our state ballot. He withdrew from the race some time ago.

But, looking over the ballot, Joe Biden’s name is not on the ballot. He withdrew and the state took his name off the ballot and replaced it with Kamala D. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Was that just to confuse the people that the state thought would vote for Donald Trump, thinking they would jump to Kennedy and vote for him instead, because he is a Kennedy?

Kennedy withdrew a day after Kamala Harris accepted the nomination from the Democratic National convention, so the timing was right for the state to get Kennedy’s name off the ballot. Why was it not taken off?

I can’t believe the reason that Kennedy’s name was not taken off ballot.

According to an AP news story written by Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond it’s that the “Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on September 27th that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s name will remain on the state’s presidential ballot, upholding a lower court’s ruling that candidates can only be removed from the ballot if they die.”

I thought that Joe Biden was still alive so why is his name not on the ballot?

The AP story goes on to say; ‘The unanimous decision from the liberal-controlled court marks the latest twist in Kennedy’s quest to get his name off ballots in key battleground states.” It also noted that; “The decision came after more than 418,000 absentee ballots have already been sent to voters and as of September 26th, nearly 28,000 had been returned.”

Another question about the ballot is Tim Walz. I remember back when Jimmy Carter was running for president. He had to go to a Wisconsin court to get his name as Jimmy Carter on the ballot. The rule was that you had to use your full given name on the ballot. You could not use nicknames or titles. Carter’s given name is James Earl Carter, Jr., not Jimmy. Tim Walz’ name is Timothy.

Of course, if you don’t want to vote for either Harris or Trump, there are six more candidates on the ballot here in Wisconsin. Here they are in the order they appear on the ballot.

Harris is first with Trump next, followed by Randall Terry/Stephen Broden, Constitution Party; Chase Russell Oliver/Mike ter Maat, Libertarian; Jill Stein/Rudolph Ware, Wisconsin Green; Claudia De la Cruz/Karina Garcia, Party for Socialism and Liberation; Cornel Wes/Melina Abdullah, Justice For All; and last is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr./Nicole Shanahan, We The People.

“I would like to talk with you this evening about what we can do together–not as Republicans and Democrats, but as Americans–to make tomorrow’s America happy and prosperous at home, strong and respected abroad, and at peace in the world. 

As we gather here tonight, the state of our Union is strong, but our economy is troubled. For too many of our fellow citizens–farmers, steel and auto workers, lumbermen, black teenagers, working mothers–this is a painful period. We must all do everything in our power to bring their ordeal to an end. It has fallen to us, in our time, to undo damage that was a long time in the making, and to begin the hard but necessary task of building a better future for ourselves and our children.” 

State of the Union Address

Ronald Reagan

October 23, 1983

Thanks for reading!     ~Carlton