A community activist from Bay City has recently filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The lawsuit aims to prevent independent presidential candidate Cornel West from being included on the November ballot. This legal action comes after a complaint was made to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers in late July.
Rosa Holliday, an experienced civil rights and community activist, had previously urged the board of state canvassers to disqualify West from the ballot. She claimed that his qualifying petitions were filled with numerous forged signatures.
Mark Brewer, Holliday’s attorney, and former Michigan Democratic Party chair, announced on X that they had filed a lawsuit to prevent West from appearing on the ballot.
The printing of the ballots will commence on September 6th.
The West campaign did not provide a comment when asked for a response before this article was published.
In response to the complaint filed on the campaign’s qualifying petitions, Edwin DeJesus, spokesperson for West, stated that the campaign sees the challenge as an effort to undermine the democratic process instead of legitimate legal objections. DeJesus argues that the allegations primarily revolve around procedural matters, such as incomplete voter information and errors made by petition circulators, with an excessive emphasis on technicalities rather than substantial compliance.
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