Cornel West can’t be on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot, court decides

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Independent presidential candidate Cornel West lost a legal challenge Friday in his bid to get on the ballot in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The Nov. 5 election is expected to be close in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes are tied with Illinois for fifth-most, and arguably are the most awarded by any battleground state.

West’s lawyer — who has longstanding ties to Republican candidates and causes — did not immediately say whether he would appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Also Friday, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the court in a filing that he will withdraw from Pennsylvania’s ballot. In a speech in Phoenix, Kennedy said he is suspending his presidential bid, backing Trump and planning to remain on ballots in states where he is unlikely to sway the outcome.

The Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver submitted petitions to get on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot without being challenged, while the Party for Socialism and Liberation has said it will appeal a judge’s decision to order its presidential candidate, Claudia De la Cruz, off Pennsylvania’s ballot.

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