The six Republicans running as Democrats in the May recall primary elections can remain on the ballot after the state elections board rejected a Democratic challenge against their candidacies Tuesday.
The Government Accountability Board voted unanimously to allow the six fake candidates to run in the recall primaries for governor, lieutenant governor and four state Senate seats. The six election officials said they did not have the legal authority to determine the candidates’ legitimacy or prevent them from gaining ballot access.
The six Republicans filed to run as Democrats in the recalls to ensure all of the primary elections are held on May 8 and all of the general elections on June 5.
Jeremy Levinson, the lawyer who filed the challenge on behalf of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, argued the fake candidates should not be permitted to appear on the ballot because they knowingly submitted false information to the GAB. He called the situation a Republican scam that goes against Wisconsin’s tradition of honest elections.
“These kinds of shenanigans and swindles cannot be permitted if that tradition is to continue,” Levinson said.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin’s attorney, Joe Olson, said the people should be able to decide who should run as a Republican or Democrat, not the political elite.
“If enough people in the Democratic primary don’t think these people should be representing the Democratic Party, they’ll express that at the ballot box by casting their vote,” Olson told the board Tuesday.
Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesman Ben Sparks said he was pleased with the GAB’s decision.
“These candidates are running to ensure election fairness, and today’s ruling guarantees that there is one primary and one general election date for all candidates facing a recall,” Sparks said in a statement.
However, State Senate Democratic Committee Executive Director Zac Kramer criticized the GAB for punting on the issue, and said Republicans are only using fake candidates to mess around with the election.
“We are confident that each of our candidates will prevail in the primary election on May 8th, despite the GOP’s efforts to confuse the voters of Wisconsin,” Kramer said in a statement.
