A pair of court rulings in the span of a few hours disqualified two longshot candidates from Georgia’s presidential race. In a twist, though, both could still appear on the ballot in this battleground state.
In separate rulings on Wednesday, two Fulton County judges voided Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate Claudia De la Cruz and independent Cornel West from Georgia’s ballot. But Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. wrote in his ruling that it’s too close to the election to strike West’s name. Instead, he ordered officials to post notices at polling sites that West is not a valid contender.
In De la Cruz’s case, Judge Emily Richardson said officials should take “all steps” to reprint ballots where feasible.
Votes for either candidate won’t be counted, even if their names still appear on the ballot, the Associated Press reported.
The dual rulings were a blow to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who in August decided to include their names on the ballot despite legal challenges from Democrats arguing they failed to follow the rules.