The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that presidential candidates Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz do not qualify to appear on the state’s ballot, meaning any votes cast for either candidate will not be counted. Democrats have launched lawfare efforts against the candidates in several states where they could potentially hurt Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances of winning.
The court ruled that the presidential electors for both West and De la Cruz failed to submit proper petitions with the required signatures after Democrats challenged the candidates. The court ruled each elector was required to submit a separate petition with the required signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. That means each of West and De la Cruz’s 16 electors needed to file individual petitions with 7,500 signatures. But both West and De la Cruz submitted only one petition following guidance from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“We now hold that each presidential elector for an independent candidate running for the office of President of the United States is a ‘candidate’ required to file a notice of candidacy under [state law] applies to each presidential elector for an independent candidate running for the office of President of the United States; and, under [state law], each presidential elector is therefore required to file a nomination petition in his or her own name ‘in the form prescribed in Code Section 21-2-170,’” the court ruled.
The court ordered Raffensperger to place notices in polling locations warning that votes cast for West and De la Cruz will not count since new ballots without the candidates’ names cannot be reprinted in time for the Nov. 5 election.
West and De la Cruz have not yet released a statement on the ruling. Both previously decried Democrats’ lawfare efforts after Raffensperger permitted both candidates to appear on the ballot despite an administrative law judge ruling the duo were ineligible, according to Georgia Recorder.
“The Democratic Party wanted to restrict the choices available to Georgia voters because they didn’t want to compete with a socialist campaign that offers real solutions to the huge problems facing working people,” De la Cruz said, according to Georgia Recorder.
“We are proud to have stood up for our rights and the right of everyone in Georgia to vote for the candidate of their choosing,” De la Cruz reportedly continued. “But this is not the end of the fight. ow, we are preparing to defend this legal victory from any appeal filed by the Democratic Party’s well-funded army of lawyers who are waging war on third parties nationwide.”
Democrats have already booted West off the ballot in Michigan after challenging his paperwork. Pennsylvania’s Democrat-controlled supreme court also recently kicked West off the ballot over a paperwork issue, according to the Washington Examiner. The court also ruled that De la Cruz and third-party candidate James Clymer could also not appear on the ballot.
But it’s not just West, De la Cruz, and Clymer who have been victims of Democrats’ lawfare. Green Party candidate Jill Stein was kicked off the Nevada ballot after the state’s Supreme Court “agreed with state Democrats’ claims that the Green Party used incorrect affidavit language on its signature petition,” as my colleague Shawn Fleetwood explained. But as Fleetwood explains, “The affidavit language used by the third party, however, was provided by the office of Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat.”
Meanwhile, after fighting to get Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballot, Democrats are now working overtime to keep his name on the ballot in key swing states. Kennedy announced he would be dropping out of the race in key swing states and endorsed former President Donald Trump. For example, the Michigan Supreme Court permitted Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot despite his objections.
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
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