Pennsylvania certifies candidates list for November ballot after court rejects West petition

Cornel West speaks at the National Press Club February 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that rejected independent candidate Cornel West’s petition to appear on the November ballot. 

The one-page, unsigned order affirms the Aug. 23 ruling by the Commonwealth Court, which agreed with the Department of State’s determination that 14 of  the West campaign’s 19 presidential electors failed to submit the affidavits required for minor-party presidential electors by the Aug. 1 deadline. 

The West campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the Capital-Star.

The Supreme Court decision cleared the way for counties to begin printing and sending out mail ballots, and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt on Monday certified the official list of candidates on the ballot. 

“Counties can now prepare their ballots to be printed, then begin sending mail ballots to voters who have requested one as soon as they are printed,” Schmidt said in a statement. 

Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot will include Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, Green Party nominee Jill Stein and Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver. 

The Department of State’s (DOS) online candidate database now reflects the official candidate list for all races, Schmidt added, with one exception: The Republican nominee for the 117th District in Luzerne County, is still unofficial after incumbent Mike Cabell challenged the results, which favored challenger Jamie Walsh by a handful of votes. There was no Democratic challenger in that race. The Luzerne County Board of Elections on Monday began the process to certify the results, and is scheduled to vote on the final certification Sept. 23.

The DOS has a mail ballot availability page with county-by-county updates. Voters can apply for a mail ballot online or mail in a paper ballot request, or request a mail ballot in person at their county election office until the Oct. 29 deadline. Mail ballots have to be returned to county election offices by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.

The most recent polling of Pennsylvania’s presidential contest from USA Today and Suffolk University has Harris with a 3-point lead over Trump statewide in Pennsylvania. Harris also leads Trump by 5 points in Northampton County and by 4 points in Erie County, both considered key bellwethers.

With its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania — which Trump carried in 2016 but Biden carried in 2020 — is the most critical battleground state for presidential candidates in the 2024 cycle. 

Harris will be in Philadelphia later today for an event with the National Association of Black Journalists, and Trump is expected to visit Bucks County this weekend.

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