Cornel West wins ballot qualification court case in Michigan

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West scored a legal victory over the weekend for his ballot access bid in battleground Michigan .

Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Redford ruled Saturday that the state erred in disqualifying West from the ballot earlier this month after it had cited technical problems with the candidate's petition. The judge found that the state had "misapplied the law" by ruling that the affidavit of identity filing requirement applies to presidential candidates when "the AOIs the candidates filed cannot serve as a mechanism to exclude them from the ballot."

"When 26,934 signatures appear on a petition that states that they 'nominate' a person as a candidate without party affiliation for the office of President of the United States and the staff of the Chief Elections Officer of the State of Michigan report that an estimated 16,089 are legitimate signatures from Michigan registered and qualified electors and the laws of our state require such a candidate to receive 12,000 legitimate signatures to be placed on the ballot for that office as a candidate without party affiliation; then that candidate has been nominated for President of the United States," the judge ruled.

West and his running mate, Melina Abdullah, were ordered to be on the Michigan ballot unless the Board of State Canvassers finds that the candidates are disqualified under a review of the signatures for their petition.

West celebrated the ruling in a statement on Sunday, saying he is "grateful" for the court's decision.

"This ruling is not just a legal victory – it is a moral victory for everyone who believes in the sanctity of the democratic process," West said. "Our campaign submitted over 26,000 signatures, significantly more than required, which the court recognized as a legitimate expression of the people’s will. We are grateful for this affirmation and promise to continue championing the rights of all voters."

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Michigan is widely viewed as a key state for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with the Cook Political Report rating the state as a "toss-up."

West is one of the third-party candidates running to Harris's political left on multiple issues, including the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. His call for an end to military aid to Israel could take some key anti-Israel voters away from Harris in the Great Lakes State, which could make her road to victory more difficult.