Green Party approved for Wisconsin presidential ballot, a move that could chip away at Biden

Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·1 min read
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Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein waits to speak at a news conference on Fifth Avenue across the street from Trump Tower on Dec. 5, 2016, in New York City. Stein’s campaign paid for a recount of the presidential election in Wisconsin, which confirmed Trump as the state winner. Her campaign has won the right to examine the source code from voting machines to investigate possible errors, but private vendors are suing to block any public dissemination of the results.
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MADISON – The Wisconsin Elections Commission approved a request late Thursday to allow Green Party candidates to appear on the 2024 election ballots, joining other third-party candidates that could chip away at Democratic President Joe Biden's vote totals in the upcoming presidential election.

More: Will a third-party candidate play a spoiler role in Wisconsin? Here are some reasons to doubt that

Wisconsin is one of just a handful true swing states in the nation where statewide races are often decided by just a few thousand votes. A Green Party candidate could make a difference in another close election. In 2016, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein received more than 31,000 votes in Wisconsin, votes that many believe could have helped Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Former President Donald Trump won Wisconsin by a little more than 22,000 votes during the 2016 election.

In 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court kept Green Party presidential candidates Howie Hawkins and running mate Angela Walker off the ballot — upholding a deadlocked elections commission, who could not agree on whether to put the candidates on the ballot because of improper paperwork.

The Green Party has not yet put forward their party's nominee.

In a Marquette University Law School poll released this week, the Green Party was supported by 4% of respondents. Trump led the pack with 40% with Biden trailing by 3% at 37%.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Green Party approved for Wisconsin presidential ballot