Cornel West loses bid to get on presidential election ballots in key swing state

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will not appear on ballots in the battleground Pennsylvania, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday. 

West’s insurgent candidacy had been challenged in Pennsylvania by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, with his secretary of state’s office arguing that the 71-year-old far-left candidate did not submit all the required paperwork on time.

The state’s Supreme Court ruling affirmed a lower court order from last month knocking West off the November ballots. 

Monday’s ruling will allow Pennsylvania officials to begin the process of printing and sending out mail-in ballots to voters. The state has the earliest mail-in voting start date in the nation. 

“As soon as the court rules on that, we’ll certify the official list and then counties can complete their preparations to mail out ballots and to have voters, if they choose, go to a county election office to apply in person,” Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt told the Associated Press prior to the state Supreme Court’s ruling. 

The Pennsylvania high court ruling means former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will appear on state ballots alongside Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver.

In most state and national polls West is polling between 0% and 2%, and his left-wing policy positions threaten to siphon away votes from Harris. 

The race for the Keystone State is effectively tied, with the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls showing Harris with 0.1 percentage point edge over the former president. 

There are 19 Electoral College votes up for grabs in Pennsylvania this year. 

President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the battleground state by less than 100,000 votes in 2020, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost in 2016 by an even slimmer margin to Trump, about 50,000 votes. 

West had been disqualified from appearing on Michigan presidential ballots last month by the state’s Bureau of Elections. 

However, the Michigan Court of Claims later overturned the ruling, certifying the far-left presidential hopeful for the Nov. 5 ballot. 

The Virginia Board of Elections also ruled earlier this month that West will be included on ballots despite previously disqualifying him over alleged faulty paperwork.