Cornel West can’t be on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot, court decides
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — Independent presidential candidate Cornel West lost a lawsuit Friday to get on the ballot in the uncertain state of Pennsylvania.
In a 15-page ruling, Commonwealth Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer sided with the Secretary of State’s office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting West’s candidacy.
The secretary of state’s office said West’s campaign did not have the required statements from 14 of the 19 presidential electors.
Jubelirer, a Republican, agreed with the secretary of state’s office that electors from minor presidential parties should be considered candidates for office and should be required to file an affidavit, even if electors from major presidential parties are not required to do so.
The lawsuit is one of several legal maneuvers by parties over third-party candidates as supporters of the Republican nomination Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris trying to unseat third-party candidates who could siphon off support, or to help others who could harm their opponent.
The November 5 election is expected to be close in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, tied for fifth place with Illinois. It is likely to have the most electoral votes of any swing state.
West’s attorney, who has long had ties to Republican candidates and causes, would not say whether he would appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Also Friday, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the court in a document that he was withdrawing from the Pennsylvania ballot. In a speech in Phoenix, Kennedy said he suspend his candidacy for president, endorsing Trump and planning to remain on the ballot in states where he is unlikely to affect the outcome.
The Green Party Jill Stein and Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party have filed petitions to run unopposed on the Pennsylvania presidential ballot, while the Party for Socialism and Liberation has said they will to appeal against a judge’s decision to remove its presidential candidate, Claudia De la Cruz, from the Pennsylvania ballot.
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Follow Marc Levy on https://x.com/timelywriter.