Presidential candidates Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz have been ruled unqualified to be on Georgia's ballots by the Georgia Supreme Court. The court determined that West and De la Cruz failed to meet the qualification criteria as their presidential electors did not each submit a separate petition with the required 7,500 signatures. Instead, only one petition per candidate was submitted, as mandated by the secretary of state.
West and De la Cruz, who qualified as independents in Georgia, faced challenges from Democrats who were concerned about potential vote-splitting that could affect Vice President Kamala Harris. Despite their names remaining on the ballots, votes for them will not be counted.
The ruling leaves Georgia voters with a choice of four presidential candidates: Harris for the Democrats, Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Chase Oliver, and the Green Party's Jill Stein. Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians automatically qualify for elections in Georgia.
The court affirmed the decisions of lower court judges who overturned the secretary of state's rulings to qualify West and De la Cruz. The justices emphasized that the issue was not the number of signatures acquired but the failure of West's and De la Cruz's electors to file any nomination petitions.
While there were arguments referencing a federal court decision that lowered the signature threshold for statewide ballot access, the court did not address constitutional challenges in this case. An appeal into federal court on constitutional grounds may be challenging due to the lack of valid petitions submitted by electors.
The legal dispute in Georgia reflects broader efforts by Democrats to challenge third-party and independent candidates in states where the margin of victory was narrow in the previous election. Republicans in Georgia have advocated for keeping all candidates on the ballot, leading to a series of legal actions.
Ultimately, the disqualifications of West and De la Cruz highlight the complexities of ballot access laws and the ongoing debates surrounding third-party and independent candidates in the electoral process.
