NC Voters Sue To Have Dr. Cornel West On Presidential Ballot
NC Voters Sue Election Board To Put Dr. Cornel West on Presidential Ballot
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Three registered NC voters are suing the State Board of Elections in an attempt to put scholar/activist Dr. Cornel West on the 2024 presidential ballot.
According to WRAL, the lawsuit filed on Monday (July 22) is seeking the Democratic-heavy board’s certification of the Justice for All Party of North Carolina after the board refused last week.
The state’s GOP-led House oversight committee also asked board Chair Alan Hirsch on Tuesday about the decision to reject the party’s effort after they receive the required number of signatures for recognition.
The board, however, did certify two other political parties this month: the Constitution Party of North Carolina and the “We The People” Party (which puts Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot).
The GOP and allies of presidential nominee Donald Trump claim that the Democratic election board members were trying to keep West off the ballot because he could take away votes from the Democratic presidential nominee (now expected to be Vice President Kamala Harris, after President Joe Biden dropped out last weekend).
Hirsch admitted that he had concerns about how the group (known as “People Over Party”) collected many of the signatures.
From WRAL:
An attorney for People Over Party has said the group didn’t coordinate with Justice for All. Hirsch noted that election board staff said last week that many of the nearly 50 people they contacted at random from the petition list said they didn’t sign the petition or didn’t know what it was for. Monday’s lawsuit was filed by a registered Democrat and two unaffiliated voters whose signatures were among those collected.
“I understand the political currents here. I’m not naive to that,” Hirsch told the House oversight committee on Tuesday. “However, this decision was based entirely on the facts as I’ve just described them.”
Hirsch adds that the board’s staff is conducting a criminal investigation after “county boards recognized or identified signatures that they believed were fraudulent.”
Justice for All Party Chair Italo Medelius says that his group is not associated with Monday’s lawsuit. Instead, the group is planning to file its own lawsuit.
The West campaign says that it secured ballot access in 12 other states. However, the campaign acknowledges it still needs to finalize some certifications.
