ATLANTA (AP) — Presidential candidates Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz are disqualified from running for president in Georgia, two state court judges ruled Wednesday, saying that their electors didn’t file the proper paperwork.
For now at least, the decision means votes for West and De la Cruz won’t be counted in Georgia, even if their names remain on ballots because it’s too late to remove them. Military and overseas ballots are scheduled to be mailed starting Tuesday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judges Thomas A. Cox Jr. and Emily Richardson ordered the state to post notices in polling places warning that West and De la Cruz had been disqualified and that votes for them would be void if their names still appear, a common remedy in Georgia for late election changes.
West has been running as an independent in Georgia. De la Cruz is the nominee for the Party of Socialism and Liberation but technically qualified for the Georgia ballot as an independent.
If the rulings stand, presidential choices for Georgia voters will include Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Kamala Harris, Libertarian Chase Oliver and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, the most candidates since 2000.