Cornel West loses Supreme Court bid to get on the Pennsylvania presidential ballot

WASHINGTON — Third-party presidential candidate Cornel West lost one on Thursday Supreme Court attempt to be included in the presidential election in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Judge Samuel Alito denied his emergency call in a brief order. Alito handles appeals from Pennsylvania.

West, a liberal academic who is currently a professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary in New York, would likely pull many more votes away from Democratic vice president nominee Kamala Harris than from former Republican President Donald Trump. West’s lawyers in the case have deep Republican ties.

The refusal comes after a rejection by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, who earlier this month expressed sympathy for West’s claim but found it was too late to reprint ballots and retest election machines without increasing the risk of errors.

Ranjan cited federal precedent that courts should not interfere with upcoming elections without a strong reason to do so.