Democratic staffer files complaint against Green Party being on Wisconsin ballot, saying they can’t qualify

(MADISON, WI) — A Democratic Party staffer has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission saying that the Green Party, which had achieved ballot access in the key battleground state this past year, should not be on the ballot.

In the complaint, Democratic National Committee Deputy Operations Director in Wisconsin David Strange alleges that the Green Party does not have anyone who would be allowed by state law to be a nominator for the Green Party’s presidential electors — meaning they cannot give a valid list of presidential electors, voiding their eligibility on the ticket.

It could make a difference if the Green Party can’t appear on the ballot in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state that both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will look to win in November. Jill Stein is expected to become the party’s formal nominee at its virtual convention, which began Thursday, and will be announcing her running mate on Friday.

In the complaint, Strange writes that Wisconsin law requires the people nominating electors to be the political party’s state legislative candidates or legislators of the party. There are no Green Party legislators in Wisconsin.

“The August 13, 2024 primary was the last opportunity for [Wisconsin Green Party] to nominate a candidate for Wisconsin Senate or Assembly before the 2024 general election. But, WGP failed to nominate any candidates for Wisconsin Senate or Assembly, and a sufficient number of electors did not nominate a candidate by writing in any WGP candidate for Wisconsin Senate or Assembly,” Strange wrote in the complaint.

The complaint was first reported by the Associated Press and was provided to ABC News by the DNC. It has also since been posted on the Wisconsin Elections Commission website, which logs every complaint filed with that body.

“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 said in a statement to ABC News.

“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.”

ABC News reached out to the Wisconsin Elections Commission for more details about its timeline for making a decision about the complaint, but didn’t hear back by the time this story was published.

Jason Call, campaign manager for Stein’s campaign, told ABC News by email, “This is a fishing expedition conjured up by the DNC, and is in line with their statements back in March that they will hire an army of lawyers and infiltrators to find any angle of attack to prevent Green Party ballot access.”

Call said that the campaign “absolutely will be hiring counsel to defend our ballot line in Wisconsin.”

The national Green Party, when contacted for comment, deferred to Stein’s campaign.

The Green Party has ballot access in at least 20 states, according to ABC News’s current reporting, and both the party and Stein herself have been filing to get on the ballot in others.

The DNC, state Democratic parties and Democratic-aligned groups have separately filed various challenges or complaints across the country challenging ballot access petitions from some independent or third-party candidates such as Stein, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Cornel West. The challenges allege either missteps, fraudulent actions or legal reasons that should disqualify those candidates from getting on the ballot.

The campaigns have denied allegations of misconduct and have said they should legally qualify for the ballot.

The Nevada Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in June to the Green Party’s ballot access filing in Nevada, which a judge has since dismissed, the Nevada Independent reported on Monday.

Stein, a physician and environmentalist, has campaigned on climate issues, a “Green New Deal,” and housing and workers’ rights; she has also been sharply critical of President Joe Biden on the Israel-Hamas war.

She has pushed back in the past against claims that her campaign could be seen as a “spoiler” for either major party candidate — allegations she also faced in 2016 during a previous presidential run.

In an interview in June, Stein told ABC News, “Just because the two major parties have thrown workers under the bus; have really made a mess out of our climate; and embroiled us in endless wars that are endangering the whole world … Just because those two parties have basically overseen that process of screwing the American electorate. I don’t think that entitles them to your vote.”