Michigan election officials say Cornel West is disqualified from ballot

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will not appear on November’s ballot in the swing state of Michigan, state election officials said Friday.

West’s ballot access was denied over notary issues, according to a letter from the state’s director of elections. He also faced a separate lawsuit filed by a local activist who alleged that his petition didn’t have enough qualifying signatures.

West’s absence from the ballot in a state that is expected to see a tight race comes as Democrats have challenged his ballot access in other states amid concerns that he could take left-leaning voters away from the Democratic ticket.

After the news of the denial, West’s campaign said it would appeal the decision, although West cannot submit a revised petition, according to state law. The department told the campaign it has five days to rebut the disqualification after the campaign didn’t previously respond to the election officials’ notification of the challenge on July 26.

“The charges regarding procedural errors in our filings, such as notarization specifics, are trivial technicalities being weaponized to distract from substantive policy debates,” West adviser Edwin DeJesus said in a statement. “We are confident that these accusations will be seen for what they are — frivolous and unfounded attempts to stifle opposition and debate.”

The letter to the West campaign listed four issues with West’s affidavit of identity, which is one of the required documents. It said the issues include the notarization being incomplete and having it on the wrong page.

State law does not provide for a candidate to resubmit a corrected affidavit, and the secretary of state’s office has consistently rejected similarly flawed affidavits previously, a spokeswoman said.

Michigan law also lays out a specific deadline for candidate-filing petitions, which must include the identity affidavit, of 4 p.m. on the 110th day before the election. This year, that deadline fell on July 18.

West is on the ballot in Utah, Colorado, South Carolina and Alaska, and his newly founded political party, Justice for All, recently won access on North Carolina’s ballot.

West’s criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s support of Israel during the war in Gaza has earned him support among left-leaning voters. In Michigan, home to the nation’s largest Arab American and Muslim population, the independent candidate could have found support.

However, West has not gained much ground in recent polling, as support has consolidated around the major two-party candidates, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

No Michigan voters said they planned to vote for West in a New York Times and Siena College poll conducted from Aug. 5 to 9. The Green Party’s Jill Stein, who has had a similar stance on Israel to West’s, did slightly better, with 1 percent among registered voters. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was at 5 percent.

Nicole Markus contributed to this report.