Claudia De la Cruz and Cornel West to take ballot access fight to Georgia Supreme Court
Atlanta, Georgia - The Claudia De la Cruz and Dr. Cornel West presidential campaigns are heading to Georgia's top court in an effort to secure their spot on the 2024 ballot.
The Georgia Supreme Court is due to hear oral arguments from both campaigns' legal representatives on Tuesday as Democrats have sought to remove the two contenders from the state ballot.
As things stand, votes for the Party for Socialism and Liberation's De la Cruz and Independent West are not set to count in Georgia after Fulton County Superior Court Judges Thomas A. Cox Jr. and Emily Richardson deemed they had not filed proper election paperwork. The judges determined ballot access petitions needed to be filed in the name of 16 presidential electors, not the candidates themselves.
The decision was the latest development in a back-and-forth battle triggered by Democratic Party-linked lawsuits.
Late last month, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger determined the candidates had qualified to be on the ballot. He weighed in after administrative law judge Michael Malihi ruled against De la Cruz and West.
The Georgia Democratic Party didn't let up, making moves to appeal the secretary of state's order.
Claudia De la Cruz and Cornel West head to Georgia's top court
De la Cruz and West – both of whom submitted more than the required 7,500 signatures to gain ballot access – last week signaled their intent to take the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
"Instead of earning people's votes, the Democrats want to win the state by banning their political opponents from taking part. They know they can't compete with our socialist solutions, so they want Trump to be the only other option in November," the Vote Socialist campaign said in a statement on social media.
"We are going to the Georgia State Supreme Court next Tuesday to defend our right to be listed on the state's ballot. This will be the final showdown in our ballot access fight!"
If the Georgia Supreme Court rules in favor of De la Cruz and West, they will join Kamala Harris (Democratic Party), Donald Trump (Republican Party), Dr. Jill Stein (Green Party), and Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party) as qualified candidates on the Peach State ballot.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire