NORTH CAROLINA — While the two major parties in the presidential race are going head-to-head in the polls, one third party is facing off against the state board of elections by joining a lawsuit filed by North Carolina voters recently.
CATCH UP: State elections board sued over third-party ballot access, amid House committee interrogation
ALSO: ‘Injustice for all’: State board of election approves RFK party for ballot, denies Cornel West
Cornel West, Justice for All party and its chair Italo Medelius filed a motion Monday to intervene in a lawsuit heard in Elizabeth City on Tuesday. The plaintiffs have asked the court to rule by Aug. 19, as to whether the party and West, its presidential candidate, will be allowed representation this election season, as ballots need to be issued Sept. 6 to county boards of election. A judge said he would make his decision quickly, according to an opinion piece that ran in the Charlotte News and Observer.
The party was denied access to North Carolina’s election ballot in a 3-2 vote executed by the Democratic-leaning State Board of Elections last month. The majority believed there were fraudulent actions engaged upon to garner signatures needed.
In response, three Fayetteville residents — Johnny Ortiz, Jimmie Rogers and Weldon Murphy — sued the board alleging it violated due process and their constitutional rights to vote for their preferred candidate. Phillip Strach, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough — a firm frequently used by the Republican party for cases involving election law and gerrymandering — is representing the voters.
Plaintiffs accuse the North Carolina State Board of Elections for unfair actions denying the Justice for All party ballot access. Law mandates new parties gather signatures from 0.25% of voters from the previous general election for governor with at least 200 from each congressional district, or approval from at least 70% of other states in the preceding presidential election to gain ballot access.
Justice for All exceeded the number by more than 3,000 signatures of the 13,865 necessitated for approval. The lawsuit says the board’s decision “is not justified by any legitimate or compelling state interest.”
“Our campaign stands in solidarity with the Justice for All Party and all those who seek justice and truth in the electoral process,” West, a progressive activist and Harvard and Princeton professor, wrote in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring that every voice is heard and that our place on the ballot is secured. As we join this lawsuit, we remain focused on fighting for truth, justice, and love.”
Unlike Justice for All, the state board agreed to give the We the People Party’s candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Constitution Party’s candidate Randall Terry ballot access. Some allege accepting third-party candidates like West and RFK will dilute votes for the Democratic presidential nominee.
The state board of elections staff investigated signatures of both We the People and Justice for All parties. The board agreed to allowing We the People’s inclusion on the 2024 ballot; the Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit in response to the move, saying RFK’s party misused state rules to gain access. The hearing is set for Aug. 12 in Wake County.
To assess Justice for All petition, NCSBE staff took a sample of 49 people out of 250 contacted. Of those, 18 claimed they did not sign the petition, three did not recall signing and eight stated they were not informed of the petition’s purpose and intent of the party upon signing.
This was enough to compel the three Democrats of the five-member board to vote against the party’s access onto the ballot. Republican candidate Kevin Lewis spoke out against the move.
“Justice for All has submitted well over the number of petitions required and if we don’t approve them as a new party in the state of North Carolina, based on talking to 49 people, I think that would be Injustice for All,” Lewis said at its July meeting.
The board also heard from Clear Choice Action Group, a Democratic group that works toward fighting “cynical efforts to abuse state-ballot access laws and mislead voters,” at its June meeting. CCAG was represented by Elias Law Group — self-described as “dedicated to help Democrats win” elections. The group presented a video to the board showing Scott Presler, a conservative activist, gathering signatures on a clipboard at a Trump rally in Wilmington earlier in the spring.
“This helps take votes away from Joseph Biden,” Presler said in the video.
CCAG submitted a brief as a friend of the court to oppose the injunction per the Fayetteville voters’ case. It stated Justice for All chair Medelius testified to the state elections board it only “could account for no more than 4,000” signatures as gathered from its executive committee and volunteers. Others were obtained by unaffiliated individuals, i.e. Presler, not authorized to hand out petitions for the party.
CCAG claimed Presler bragged about getting 40 volunteers to canvass and county boards disqualified roughly 45% of signers from the 30,000 first submitted by Justice for All due to fraud. The group also told the courts the state board was right to take time to investigate Justice for All and deny its ballot access.
West’s camp cited outside Democrats have influenced the board’s decision to keep him off the ballot, “resulting in significant procedural failures.”
Last week, the General Assembly’s House Reform and Oversight Committee held a hearing to question the North Carolina State Board of Elections, particularly chairman Alan Hirsch and executive director Karen Brinson Bell, on its decision-making. Hirsch denied politics played a role, but conceded the sample may not be “statistically perfect.”
Both he and Brinson Bell added concerns over fraudulent signatures were brought to their attention by county election boards who verify them, not outside influences.
After the House committee hearing, the Fayetteville voters submitted facts of finding to the courts. It noted staff is only looking at the rejected signatures but not all 17,000 received by the Justice for All party and thus not gathering a sampling from more counties.
“During the initial validation process, four, maybe five, County Boards of Election had indicated concerns over some of the signatures” — not 76 of 100 counties as indicated by Clear Choice Action Group.
The state board staff has opened a criminal investigation after county state boards reported fraudulent signatures.
West campaign spokesperson Edwin DeJesus said in a statement the state board of elections’ accusations are weak and unsubstantiated: “While these allegations are frustrating, they are ultimately encouraging as they reflect the desperate attempts to undermine our efforts.”
Also in favor for the party’s request to gain ballot access are State House Speaker Tim Moore and leaders of the House rules and elections committees. They submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Justice for All, ahead of Tuesday’s hearing. It explained since lawmakers oversee the state statutes, it wanted to ensure the rules for adding a new party were being followed and citizens’ voting rights were not being compromised. Lawmakers thought the state board acted in a discriminatory fashion in JFA’s denial.
While the presidential race is primarily the focus of Justice for All party access, it could also impact a mayoral race in the state. Frankie Gist is attempting to run for Winston-Salem mayor with the party affiliation. The incumbent is Democratic mayor Allen Joines, who has served in the position since 2001. Gist said his campaign has been thwarted by the state board’s decision.
“My dad always told me growing up: ‘In order to get something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done,'” Gist wrote in a statement. “But he also said when you start doing things differently and not like the way others want it done, they will try to do everything in their power to hinder you from moving forward to your greatness and success. The Board of Elections is trying to hinder us because they see we’re doing things differently and not like the way they want us to do it.”
West and Justice for All has been accepted on ballots in Maine, South Carolina and Utah. Authorization is pending in others states: Wisconsin, Florida, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and Vermont.
However, in Michigan the candidate is facing forgery claims from canvass petitioners.
New York has disqualified the candidate.
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