Two presidential candidates, Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz, were recently disqualified from appearing on the Georgia ballot in the upcoming election due to improper paperwork filed by their electors.
According to the Associated Press, the ruling affects their candidacies, even though their names may still appear on the ballot. Despite this, as the court decided, any votes cast for these candidates will not be counted.
The decision was made by Fulton County Superior Court Judges Thomas A. Cox Jr. and Emily Richardson. They ruled that neither West, who is running as an independent, nor De la Cruz, the Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee, had submitted the necessary paperwork in time. Their electors did not meet the required signature count under Georgia election laws.
Georgia is set to mail its military and overseas ballots as early as Tuesday. However, election officials are now required to post notices at polling locations, informing voters that while West and De la Cruz may appear on the ballot, their votes will not be counted.
West’s campaign spokesperson, Edwin DeJesus, expressed confidence that an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court would reverse the decision. Meanwhile, Estevan Hernandez, co-chair of De la Cruz’s campaign in Georgia, decried the court’s decision as an attack on voters’ rights.
“We are appealing this decision which negates basic democratic rights of the people of Georgia to vote for the candidate of their choice,” Hernandez stated in response to the ruling.
Both West and De la Cruz plan to appeal the ruling, with their campaigns gearing up for a legal battle ahead of the general election. If their disqualification is upheld, the remaining presidential options for Georgia voters will include Donald Trump (Republican), Kamala Harris (Democrat), Chase Oliver (Libertarian), and Jill Stein (Green Party).
Georgia law automatically qualifies Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian candidates, while other parties must meet signature requirements. In this case, West and De la Cruz’s electors were found to have failed in this process. Cox pointed out that West needed just one elector to properly qualify, but none of the necessary signatures were presented in time.
Despite this, the campaigns remain hopeful for a reversal. "We are confident that we will win the appeal," DeJesus wrote in an email.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger initially overruled an administrative law judge’s earlier decision to disqualify West and De la Cruz. However, the recent judicial ruling reversed that decision. Stein, on the other hand, was qualified by Raffensperger due to her status as a Green Party candidate in over 20 states under a new Georgia law.
Another candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had also been disqualified, though he has since withdrawn his candidacy in Georgia and endorsed Trump for president. Democrats, meanwhile, had mounted challenges against the inclusion of West, De la Cruz, and Stein, with only Stein surviving the legal battles.
Judge Cox dismissed the Democratic challenge to Stein’s inclusion, ruling that Raffensperger “has a clear legal duty to allow the Unified Green Party to qualify candidates for presidential elector and to allow those candidates access to the Nov. 4, 2024 General Election ballot.”
Two Georgia judges have disqualified presidential candidates Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz from appearing on the state's ballot due to improper filing of paperwork by their electors. The ruling, if upheld on appeal, means votes for these candidates will not be counted in Georgia, even if their names remain on printed ballots. This decision narrows the field of presidential choices for Georgia voters and highlights the intricate legal requirements for ballot access in U.S. elections.
