Independent candidate Cornel West ruled eligible for Michigan's Nov. 5 presidential ballot

LANSING — Independent presidential candidate Cornel West's name will appear on Michigan's Nov. 5 presidential ballot, along with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a terse order, the court refused to overturn an earlier ruling from the Michigan Court of Appeals. It rejected appeals filed by attorney Mark Brewer, a former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, alleging an affidavit West filed contained errors and some of his signatures were fraudulent.

On Aug. 30, a 3-0 opinion from the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by the Michigan Court of Claims, but reversed a ruling by the Michigan Bureau of Elections that West was ineligible for the ballot because of problems with an affidavit he filed with the state.

The Michigan Democratic Party has been fighting to keep West off the ballot, as has voter Rosa Holliday, who is represented by attorney Mark Brewer, a former Michigan Democratic Party chair. The Michigan Department of State appealed the Court of Claims ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals, but did not follow through with an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, as Brewer did.

West is a civil rights activist and philosopher who has taught at Harvard and other U.S. universities. Politically, he has described himself as a "non-Marxist socialist." Though he has been polling at 1% or less in Michigan and nationally, that could be enough to have an impact in what is expected to be a close election between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford on Aug. 24 ordered the names of West and his running mate Melina Abdullah to be included on Michigan's presidential ballot. Redford said they had easily met the requirement of filing at least 12,000 eligible signatures.

Finding no errors in Redford's reasoning, the Court of Appeals affirmed that opinion Friday.

Redford's order overturned a contrary ruling made by the Michigan Bureau of Elections under Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat.

Jonathan Brater, Michigan's elections director, told the West campaign Aug. 16 that he was disqualified from the Michigan ballot because of defects in his affidavit of identity, which was filed with the state along with the required number of petition signatures. Brater's letter said there were several defects in the affidavit, including unfilled blanks on the form, the notary's public stamp being sent on a separate sheet of paper and the notary failing to identify what specific notarial act she was engaged in.

But Redford ruled that under state law, West as an independent candidate was not required to file an affidavit of identity along with his signatures, making any deficiencies in that affidavit irrelevant.

Also, on Aug. 26, the Board of State Canvassers voted 3-1 to certify West for the ballot after hearing concerns from Brewer and others that thousands of the signatures West submitted were fraudulent. The board's vote upheld the position of the Bureau of Elections that West filed the required number of valid signatures.

The board did not weigh in on the affidavit issue.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected]. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cornel West ruled eligible for Michigan's Nov. 5 presidential ballot