A federal judge has ordered the state election board to place presidential candidate Cornel West on the November ballot.
In an order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle wrote that the state elections board’s decision last month to deny certification to West’s Justice for All party violated voters’ constitutional rights.
In a 3-2 vote, the state Board of Elections last month refused to recognize Justice for All as a political party, with the Democratic majority questioning the validity of the signatures submitted for the group.
Some county election boards reported forged signatures, and state election board members instructed their staff to contact additional signatories.
State office staff attempted to reach 250 people by phone and spoke to 49. Of those, 18 said they had not signed and three could not remember signing.
The board majority used these results, as well as questions about a third party that had collected signatures on behalf of Justice for All, to deny party registration.
Three signatories of the petition filed suit.
Boyle said it was “incomprehensible” to conclude from the results of a limited telephone survey that “a significant proportion” of respondents had not signed and “many others” had not been informed of the purpose of the petition.
Although West is a center-left candidate, prominent GOP lawyers represented Justice for All voters. The Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party filed a brief in support of Justice for All.
Justice for All’s court victory was the second win on Monday for candidates from alternative parties that support voting rights. On Monday afternoon, a Wake Superior Court judge rejected an attempt by North Carolina Democrats to disqualify Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the ballot.
