Cornel West, the independent presidential candidate, has secured a spot on Maine’s ballot as he aims to be listed in as many states as possible.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ruled on Tuesday that despite some of West’s petition signatures being fraudulently collected, there were enough valid signatures to qualify him for the ballot. The challenges against West’s signatures alleged fraud by a petition circulator and errors by local and state officials in reviewing the petitions.
Cornel West secures a spot on Maine’s ballot despite fraud challenges in his petition signatures
Bellows stated, “Upon review of the proceedings and the evidence before me, I conclude that some signatures were gathered fraudulently, and I reject the petition forms that contain those signatures. However, the bad actions of one should not impugn the valid First Amendment rights of the many.”
The secretary of state also confirmed that signatures where voters used nicknames or only provided dates without year were correctly certified.
West’s candidacy is in Maine due to the state’s ranked-choice voting system, where voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate achieves a majority in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on second choices until one candidate secures a majority.
West, known for his academic and activist work, is running as an independent to the left of the Democratic ticket. While he has achieved ballot access in about a dozen states, his polling shows limited traction, generally around 1 percent.
