The attached memorandum provides information to persons who are considering filing a challenge to the nomination papers of a candidate whose papers are required to be filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (“Commission”).
Challenges to nomination papers filed by independent presidential candidates for the 2025 Spring Election will be considered and determined by the Commission at its January 14, 2025, meeting. The Commission’s virtual teleconference meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. on January 14, 2025.
Challengers should familiarize themselves with the requirements of Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 8, the statutory chapter governing nomination papers and nominations. Nomination papers and the challenge procedure are further governed by administrative rules which can be found in the Wisconsin Administrative Code EL §§ 2.05 – 2.07. Please be advised that the emergency rules regarding nomination paper and declaration of candidacy challenge procedure that were promulgated on June 10, 2024 were suspended on July 22, 2024 by the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) and are no longer in effect.
Wisconsin Administrative Code EL § 2.05 sets forth the standards for determining whether nomination papers comply with Wis. Stat. Ch.8, and Wis. Adm. Code EL § 2.07 sets forth the bases for challenges to those nomination papers. Because Wis. Adm. Code EL § 2.05(4) provides that "[a]ny information on a nomination paper is entitled to a presumption of validity," any challenge to that information bears the burden of rebutting that presumption.
Sworn complaints challenging nomination papers are filed by complying with Wis. Admin. Code EL § 2.07(2)(a) of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
Please see the attached memorandum for more information about filing a challenge to nomination papers.