Wisconsin Elections Commission Retains Cornel West On Ballot, Securing His Presence In Crucial Swing State.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission held a vote on August 27th, with 51 members in favor of allowing Cornel West, a progressive candidate, to remain on the ballot in the swing state. The only dissenting vote came from the Chair of the commission, Ann Jacobs, a Democrat who argued that while West had properly submitted his name for ballot inclusion, his running mate, Black Lives Matter activist Melina Abdullah, had not.

The West campaign, represented by attorney Oliver Hall, stated that they had submitted all necessary nomination and candidacy papers on time, in accordance with Wisconsin law, despite the fact that one of the notaries was from California. Hall, who is the founder of the Center for Competitive Democracy, highlighted that the objection focused on the notary seal being next to Abdullah’s oath in her candidacy declaration, but not next to her signature, even though this was not the case on another page. The challengers argued that the second page was invalid since it was not attached to the initial document. Hall emphasized that the petitioners would need to prove that strict compliance was required based on the statutes.

Attorney David Hollander, representing the petitioners, contended that Abdullah had signed her name where the notary was supposed to sign, even though this was not consistent on a separate page that was not attached to the original document. Hollander raised concerns that this could allow for the notary and the witnessed document to be switched without detection, arguing that ignorance of the law is not an excuse and that it was a failure on the part of the notarial officer. Hollander claimed that Abdullah could have rectified the errors and made the candidacy declaration compliant with the law.

Oliver Hall expressed little surprise at the decision, stating, “The challenge centered around the Democrats’ allegation that the papers were missing a single staple. By decisively rejecting that claim, the commission properly protected the voting rights of thousands of Wisconsin voters who signed the West/Abdullah papers and the rights of all Wisconsin voters who want a free choice of candidates at the polls,” in a statement to The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times reached out to David Hollander and the West campaign for their reactions to the decision, but there was no response from either.

In Michigan, on August 24th, Judge James Robert Redford of the Court of Claims ruled that West would appear on the ballot, despite the plaintiffs arguing that he could not run as an independent due to his affiliation with the Natural Law Party in other states. Furthermore, the Michigan Bureau of Elections had informed the West campaign on August 16th that his affidavit of identity was improperly notarized, a claim that was rejected by Judge Redford. West’s campaign regarded it as a decisive victory for democratic principles and voter choice, with West stating, “We are grateful for this affirmation and promise to continue championing the rights of all voters,” in a statement.