State election regulators have narrowly rejected the request of a Milwaukee independent woman running for the 10th Assembly District to have the phrase “not the white man’s bitch” appear next to her name on the fall ballot.
Independent candidates are allowed a phrase of up to five words next to their names on the fall ballot in what’s called a statement of principles.
The board voted 3-2 to allow Ieshuh Griffin’s proposed statement to appear on the ballot. But the motion required the support of four members to make the ballot.
Griffin said the statement was not intended to be racial in nature and that GAB staff’s rejection of her statement violated her First Amendment rights. GAB attorneys countered the statement was pejorative and defamatory and that independent candidates’ statements have a different standard under the First Amendment than other types of political speech.
– WisPolitics.com
