Suffering from lingering effects of political post-traumatic stress disorder after the 2016 election was effectively decided by third-party candidates, Democrats are carefully advocating for or challenging certain names on battleground state ballots.

But the Democratic strategy, which has traditionally been used by both parties, has drawn criticism this election as Democrats portray themselves as protectors of democracy after former President Donald Trump‘s difficulties accepting the outcome of the 2020 cycle.

The best examples of Democrats’ newfound caution are Michigan and Wisconsin, critical building blocks in Vice President Kamala Harris‘s so-called blue wall, which will likely determine November’s results and that, in turn, will likely be determined by a relative handful of votes.

In Michigan, Democrats, namely Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and her team, have been before the state’s Supreme Court successfully defending her office’s decision not to remove former independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. from the ballot, despite last month suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump.

Benson had argued that the deadline for him to withdraw his candidacy had passed, but that did not prevent Kennedy, who shares supporters with Trump, from last week filing a federal lawsuit against her. In it, he alleges her legal argument is unconstitutional.

“Defendant’s relentless and unauthorized attempt to have Mr. Kennedy convey a message to Michigan voters he insists on not conveying not only harms Mr. Kennedy but also harms every citizen in Michigan,” Kennedy’s lawyer, Brandon Debus, wrote in his latest complaint.

Meanwhile, Democrats, represented by prominent Michigan lawyer and former state party chairman Mark Brewer after Benson declined to appeal an adverse decision, had been trying to keep another independent candidate, Cornel West, off the ballot. Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court denied Brewer’s motion, based on claims there were problems with West’s paperwork.

Benson’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment and Brewer directed inquiries toward the Michigan Democratic Party, which did not respond either.

The moves and counter-moves are important considering post-debate polling, including a Mitchell Research and Communications survey published last week, which indicates, if the election were held today, Harris would have 47% support in Michigan to Trump’s 46% and Kennedy’s 2%. Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein would have 1% and West would have 0%.

President Joe Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 154,188 votes, or roughly 3 percentage points. Four years earlier, Trump won the state over 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 10,704 votes, with Stein receiving 51,463 votes that contest.

Michigan Republican strategist Stu Sandler criticized the Democratic tactics for not honoring “any democratic traditions.” Sandler contended Democrats were “doing it because they think it’ll help them win.”

“They do cry out about these anti-democratic efforts, but they are trying to keep people on a ballot that don’t want to be there,” he told the Washington Examiner.

The Republican National Committee added Democrats “fought tooth-and-nail to subvert democracy by fighting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ability to get on the ballot in states across the country.”

“Now, they want Kennedy on the ballot because they think it will hurt President Trump, and they’ve ignored the will of 14 million primary voters to coronate Kamala Harris as the Democrat nominee,” RNC spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Washington Examiner. “Americans see the truth. Democrats are defying the will of the people and ignoring our nation’s principles, while President Trump is fighting for free, fair, and secure elections, and to Make America Great Again.”

The Democratic National Committee dismissed Sandler and the RNC’s criticism. A DNC spokeswoman underscored that the party and individual leaders within it, such as Benson, were simply ensuring “everyone follows the same rules.”

“In Michigan, RFKJ went through three levels of the courts, lost, and now he is filing a federal lawsuit,” she told the Washington Examiner. “He is the one that sued the secretary of state, who didn’t do anything but follow the law as had been determined by the courts.” 

The DNC, too, raised concerns that Republicans have assisted West and other third-party or independent candidates with ballot access, for instance, in Arizona, though in that case they failed. Stein and Libertarian Party president nominee Chase Oliver will be on the ballot in that state, but not Kennedy or West.

Sandler downplayed the spoiler allegations, quipping that at least West “wants to be on the ballot.” Similar accusations have been leveled against Democrats in Pennsylvania regarding Constitution Party presidential nominee Randall Terry.

Across Michigan’s border in Wisconsin, Democrats had endeavored to remove Stein and West from the state’s ballot and continue to be against Kennedy doing the same. Democrats opposed Stein on procedural grounds and West on his paperwork.

But as they are in Michigan, Kennedy, Stein, and West currently remain on Wisconsin’s ballot after the state’s Supreme Court last month ruled in Stein’s favor and its elections commission for West, but against Kennedy. Last week, Kennedy filed another lawsuit, this time with a Wisconsin state court of appeals.

“In Michigan and Wisconsin, the active challenges there are ones that RFKJ has brought himself,” the same DNC spokeswoman said. “The only reason there is any question about who is on the ballot in those states is because RFK is suing. He qualified and there’s not a way to remove himself. That’s not because of Democrats.”

The DNC spokeswoman did not address Democratic ballot access litigation against Stein, but Jason Call, her campaign manager, told the Washington Examiner his candidate would be an option in 37 states to 95% of voters, including write-in bids in eight jurisdictions.

“Democrats tried and failed to remove us from the ballot in Wisconsin and failed, losing 0-7 judgment from the WI Supreme Court,” he said.

Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by 20,682 votes, or less than a point. Hillary Clinton lost the state in 2016 by 22,748 votes, with Stein getting 31,072 votes.

Although Stein experienced success in court in Wisconsin, she and her campaign are now preoccupied with their disputes in Georgia and Nevada. If Stein succeeds in those Sunbelt states, she will be on the ballot in all seven battlegrounds, unlike Kennedy and West. Libertarian Chase Oliver will also be a choice in Pennsylvania.

“We are currently fighting to retain ballot access in GA and NV,” Call, Stein’s campaign manager, said. “Hearings in GA took place [last] Tuesday, both state superior court and Fulton County court. In NV we [filed] a brief with the Supreme Court … to protest the partisan ruling of the NV [secretary of state].”

In Georgia, Democrats are working to remove Stein and West from the ballot, with a victory last week in the state’s Superior Court against West and another independent candidate, Claudia de la Cruz, over their paperwork. The pair have promised to appeal their cases to the Georgia Supreme Court. Kennedy will not be on the ballot in the state, but Oliver will be.

In Nevada, it is a different, more complicated, and potentially far-reaching story. There, earlier this month, the Nevada Supreme Court found that Stein could not be on the ballot after Democrats took action against her. That means Oliver will be the only third-party or independent option in Nevada, one that could undermine Trump in the state. Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow last Friday supplemented Stein’s Supreme Court petition.

Breaking: Jay Alan Sekulow, the conservative lawyer who is a former Trump lawyer, just went to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to overturn the Nevada Supreme Court ruling that Jill Stein and the Green Party cannot appear on the Nevada ballot. https://t.co/l0uH3GwBWm pic.twitter.com/GITEpPvkl8

— Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) September 13, 2024

Ballot access issues in North Carolina had practical repercussions this month after Kennedy’s campaign suspension caused delays in the state sending out its absentee ballots, which was supposed to start happening on Sept. 6. North Carolina’s Supreme Court last week ordered that Kennedy be removed from its ballot after its board of elections informed him it could not. Stein, West, and Oliver will be choices when they begin being posted on Sept. 20.