State Democrats have appealed rulings by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that allow independent presidential candidate Cornel West and socialist candidate Claudia De la Cruz on ballots in the November election.
The Friday appeal of Raffensperger’s final rulings says the Secretary of State misapplied state law by allowing them to appear on the ballot alongside Democrat Kamala Harris, Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Chase Oliver and the Green Party’s Jill Stein.
“A judge affirmed that none of these candidates were qualified to be on the Georgia ballot,” Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Director Kevin Olasanoye said in a statement last week. “The secretary of state ignored the judge’s ruling that found each party failed to play by the rules. State election law is clear, and we are exploring our options.”
Time is short. The filings request emergency hearings for the West and De la Cruz appeals before ballots are mailed to overseas and military voters Sept. 17.
Georgia law requires independent candidates to submit at least 7,500 petition signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot. Raffensperger, a Republican, said West and De la Cruz cleared that hurdle with 8,075 and 7,682 signatures, respectively.
But the filed appeals cite a 2017 change in law on the issue. The filings reference Chief State Administrative Law Judge Michael Malihi’s recommendations, saying West and De la Cruz improperly formatted and submitted their petition signatures.
The challenges are part of a national effort seeking to block minor presidential candidates from siphoning away votes from Harris. Georgia Republicans filed intervening motions backing the independent and third-party presidential candidates.
All of the legal maneuvering is happening in the context of a razor-thin 2020 presidential election in which President Joe Biden defeated Trump in swing-state Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes.
Raffensperger overruled Malihi’s recommendation last week to shut out West and De la Cruz, but upheld the recommendation to keep the Georgia Green Party’s Jill Stein from appearing on the state ticket, although Stein had an alternative path to the ballot — being the nominee of the national Green Party, which is not affiliated with Georgia’s Green Party.
Raffensperger approved Stein for the ballot as the national nominee.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s challenge was dismissed after he withdrew his ballot petition and suspended his campaign to endorse Trump.
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