Dr. Cornel West, an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential elections, is now able to appear on ballots in Virginia. This decision was confirmed by the Virginia Department of Elections in a letter sent out to West’s campaign. Overturned the earlier decision that had been made due to a lack of the required forms.
The letter further, reads, ‘The Department of Elections has undertaken the task of justifying its decision not to qualify Drs. West and Abdullah; the embargo is lifted, their names will be included in the ballots.’ This came about after more details concerning the originally submitted documents seeking parole were provided. The Department recognized that some forms had been submitted in April. But even though forms were received after the July 1st cutoff. There were new regulations regarding the citizenship and residency of the proposed electors that were not communicated.
Campaign Response and Ballot Considerations
The West-Abdullah campaign has stated their candidature has been added to the Virginia ballot. A campaign spokesperson said, “Virginia voters will now get the chance to vote for a candidate. Dr. Cornel West, who shares their values.”
Virginia voters will have among them Dr. Cornel West and his running mate St. Dr. Melina Abdullah. Who is the vice-presidential nominee among other candidates that will be on the ballot alongside former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, Independent Claudia De la Cruz, and Jill Stein of the Green Party? Another independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already stepped away from the race and supported Trump.
Campaign Challenges in Other States
A few challenges have also been encountered by the West-Abdullah campaign in obtaining ballot access in a few other essential states. They have been able to qualify in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Georgia which are defined as swing states and which could have some effect on the presidential election. However, they have not met the deadlines for submitting the required forms in Arizona and Nevada and endured some court battles in Pennsylvania. The request in Pennsylvania was denied because the campaign had included affidavits from a few of the electors.
A representative from the West-Abdullah campaign made the following statement on the course of events in Pennsylvania. “We hope that the federal courts might do on the First Amendment what is essential which is currently overtaxing.”
Creative Strategy
While Virginia is not yet regarded as a battleground state. There is a possibility that Donald Trump’s efforts to attract crowds at rallies during the campaign would change the dynamics of the voters. In the 2020 elections, Virginia was won by President Biden handily, however, the ballot of West may morph the politics there.
Despite these vicissitudes, they have successfully managed to get their names included in the ballot in quite several states signifying the fact that they do not intend to quit the fight for the 2024 presidential elections nasty battles notwithstanding.
