Election officials stress challenges to altering presidential ballots amid RFK Jr. lawsuit
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Election officials are stressing how much time and money it would cost county clerks to alter presidential ballots to remove former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name from the ticket.
Tens of thousands of ballots have already been printed as of last week with a Sept.18th mandated deadline to have ballots in the hands of local clerks.
Two of the state's largest counties, Dane and Milwaukee, have been asked by the Wisconsin Department of Justice to detail the impact of reprinting ballots under the tight timeline following Kennedy's lawsuit seeking to remove his name.
Dane County estimates it could cost nearly $150,000 to reprint ballots and for Milwaukee County, more than $82,000.
"It's not just as simple as, I'm going to delete your name from the ballot," said Michelle Hawley, Director of Elections for Milwaukee County. "There's a lot that goes into those ballots to begin with."
In the latest filing Tuesday, Kennedy's attorney said if his lawsuit is successful and ballots have already been printed, he wants officials to put a sticker over his name.
Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell said stickers are not feasible and noted that's only allowed to occur when a candidate dies, according to state law.
"There are so many problems with that," McDonell said. "First of all, the machine will read it as multiple sheets (ballots) and it causes the machine to stop. That's why we don't do stickers at all."
McDonell was doubtful Kennedy's lawsuit would be successful despite North Carolina's Supreme Court on Monday ruling RFK Jr.'s name must be taken off state ballots for the November election.
"I think our laws are pretty clear and this is not keeping me up at night," McDonell said.
Last month, the bipartisan state Elections Commission rejected Kenney's request to withdraw his name due to state law that prohibits candidates from retracting their nomination after qualifying to be on the ballot.
Kennedy then asked the state Supreme Court to take the case, which they denied.
His latest challenge was filed in Dane County court. The judge overseeing the case has said he would rule by Tuesday, if the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Waukesha doesn't take the case first.
More than two weeks ago RFK Jr. suspended his campaign, but his campaign is trying all avenues to remove his name from several ballots in battleground states where the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be close.
If Kennedy is unsuccessful and remains on the ballot, experts say it could make a difference in a state that's known for its razor thin margins.
In the latest Marquette University Law School poll, Kennedy received 6% of the vote despite 86% of respondents saying they knew he dropped out.
"Voting for Kennedy is just an act of saying this is my protest vote whether he's suspending his campaign or not," said Marquette's Poll Director Charles Franklin.
With all the third-party candidates combined, 9% is the total vote share, according to the poll. That's much higher than 2016 when third-party and independent candidates received 5.5% of the vote.
Franklin said he believes the 9% vote total will begin to decline in the coming weeks, but added to not "underestimate the potential impact" third and independent candidates could have on Trump or Harris in November.