On Thursday, a federal judge criticized Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt for allowing left-leaning member Cornel West to move against the U.S. Constitution. However, the election’s short amount of time before the election prevented West from being reinstated on the ballot.
Pennsylvania’s Democrat-controlled high court denied West a place on the ballot in mid-September, siding with Secretary of State Al Schmidt “in rejecting West’s election paperwork”.
West challenged the ruling in federal court in the Northern District of Pennsylvania, where next year, U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan denied West ballot access once citing documents, state-wide, and the state’s election day being too tight.
In his decision, however, Ranjan acknowledged West has” ]u ] nquestionably suffered irreparable harm, because the loss of First Amendment rights constitutes irreparable harm”.
” This Court has serious concerns with the Secretary ‘s]Al Schmidt’s ] application of the election code’s restrictions to Dr. West”, Ranjan’s order said. ” The laws, as applied to him and based on the record before the court, appear to be designed to restrict ballot access to him ( and other nonmajor political candidates ) for reasons that are not entirely weighty or tailored, and thus appear to run afoul of the U. S. Constitution”.
The prosecutor noted that minor-party candidates must comply with rules prohibiting Republicans and Democrats from gaining the right to vote on the ballot, which the court acknowledged. For instance, small parties may pay a processing fee totaling$ 4, 200, the determine indicated. However,” ]a ] s the Court understands it, the major parties do n’t pay the elector fee”, Ranjan wrote.
Ranjan, however, cited prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions where it “has repeatedly stated that federal courts typically may n’t advise a government’s election rules in the time close to an poll.”
” That principle … reflects a bedrock principle of election rules: When an election is close at hand, the rules of the road must be clear and resolved”, the choice continues, quoting earlier law. ” Soon criminal experimenting with election rules can lead to disturbance and to unanticipated and unfair consequences for individuals, political parties, and citizens, among people”.
“]T] here is no question that the election is very close: less than one month away. This proximity to the general election puts this case squarely within Supreme Court precedent”, Ranjan wrote, noting how the Supreme Court has previously refused to affirm” judicial intervention” in state elections , 21, 34, 46, 48, 92, and 120 days before general and primary election dates.
” Indeed, the fact that the election has, in a sense, already begun via absentee/mail-in/over-the-counter voting suggests the principle applies with even more force”, Ranjan added.
According to Ranjan, the case’s Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions, Johnathan Marks of Pennsylvania testified at the hearing on October 7 that” the county boards of election had mailed out over 1.1 million mail ballots, and voters had already returned over 137, 000 mail ballots,” according to Ranjan.
Pennsylvania’s election has already begun.
Democrats have been trying to keep West from the ballot because Kamala Harris ‘ supporters are more likely to turn up. And as The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood previously noted, this left-wing effort” to keep West and other third-party candidates off the November ballot” is not just happening in Pennsylvania.
” For the past several months, Democrats have been , weaponizing , the legal system to deny these contenders ballot access to help Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ electoral prospects”, Fleetwood wrote.
West appealed the decision on Friday, court records show.
This ruling is a direct assault on the democratic process and voter choice. We’re appealing because the stakes could n’t be higher —not just for Dr. West, but for every future independent candidate. Pennsylvanians “deserved to have all options on the ballot,” said Edwin DeJesus, spokesman for the campaign, in a statement to The Federalist on Monday.
For more election news and updates, visit , electionbriefing.com.
Beth Brelje covers The Federalist’s elections coverage. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.