Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford ruled that Cornel West and his running mate Melina Abdullah can appear on Michigan’s presidential ballot in November.
When this case is distilled to its most basic elements, it presents a question of statutory interpretation. The Court must decide if, under the Michigan Election Law, MCL 168.1 et seq., a person who seeks to run for President or Vice President as a candidate not affiliated with a political party in Michigan, presents 26,934 signatures to the Secretary of State (SOS) in accordance with Michigan law, on a form prescribed by statute which states the undersigned petition signers “nominate” the person to be a candidate, and the SOS “estimates” 16,089 of those signatures are valid and the petitions contain at least 100 signatures from at least one-half of the congressional districts in the state, the total estimated valid signatures being well in excess of the 12,000 valid signatures required for placement on the ballot, has that person been “nominated” for the Office of President or Vice President?The Court concludes the answer to that question is yes.
The Democrats, supposedly fighting to save democracy, opposed West on the ballot.
The Michigan Bureau of Elections, which is under Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, ruled to remove West from the ballot.
The state claimed West had problems with his affidavit of identity:
Jonathan Brater, Michigan’s elections director, told the West campaign Aug. 16 that he was disqualified from the Michigan ballot because of defects in his affidavit of identity, which was filed with the state along with the required number of petition signatures. Brater’s letter said there were several defects in the affidavit, including unfilled blanks on the form, the notary’s public stamp being sent on a separate sheet of paper and the notary failing to identify what specific notarial act she was engaged in.But Redford ruled that under state law, West as an independent candidate was not required to file an affidavit of identity along with his signatures, making any deficiencies in that affidavit irrelevant.
The Michigan Democratic Party challenged West’s eligibility.
Attorney Mark Brewer, who used to chair the state’s party, filed an appeal on Sunday with the Michigan Court of Appeals. He “represents Rosa Holliday, a Michigan voter, in the ballot eligibility dispute.”
The state wants to appeal Redford’s decision.
Michigan is a swing state.
In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton 47.50% to 47.27%
Libertarian Gary Johnson received 3.59% of the votes, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 1.07%.
In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 50.62% to 47.84%.
Libertarian Jo Jorgensen received 1.09% of the votes, and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins received 0.25%.
RFK Jr. wants to take himself off the ballot in swing states like Michigan.
Libertarian Chase Oliver and Green Party candidate Jill Stein will appear on the ballot with West.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party wants the state to remove Stein from the ballot.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY